Scales Adventure
by Ri2
Summary: Sequel to Shadow Adventure 2. Scales has made her way to the heart of the fortress. Can she defeat Metal Shadow and his treacherous creation, Satan? Can she stop the power of the Hyper Emerald? FINISHED AT LAST!!
1. The Introduction of the Demonic Four

After such a short break, we begin the first chapter of my new story! If none of you have read my previous work, Shadow Adventure 2, do so now or none of this will make any sense. Oh, and don't bother commenting on my formatting, it's not worth it. I try and I try to format my works properly, only to see it all fail due to a problem with the uploading process. So please, please don't bother mentioning it. (Oh, one more thing. Big's last name is Rose, which explains why Amy's is the same since he made her.) Disclaimer: Scales and the Demonic Four belong to me. Their original body designs, however, were based on Digimon. Also, most of the areas and happenings in this entire story are based on Sonic Adventure. Since I'm never making a prequel to Shadow Adventure 2, I thought this would be an acceptable alternative.  
  
Day 0, 8:00 PM  
  
It has been one year since the ARK incident. The Snively Empire has fallen apart without its master. The more intelligent robots attempted to set up their own fiefdoms, but they all collapsed thanks to our five heroes. The remainder of GUN attempted to take Scales and the others down in court for destruction of property and completely eradicating their central headquarters. But once Scales projected all the memories of her torture and the invasion of ARK by GUN, the trial was a moot point and GUN was permanently disbanded. Robotnik inherited the ARK and has turned it into a research center like it used to be. The Super Emeralds are all currently stored in a high-security vault in the Eggman Industries laboratory in San Francisco. Rouge has moved to Angel Island and is currently living with Knuckles. Her vast jewel showcase is hidden somewhere in Lava Reef. Robotnik is incubating a new Eggchao in his lab, and as for our favorite Chao couple Angel and Devil, they now have a newly hatched baby, Nightshade. As for Scales, she now lives with Shadow and Robotnik. She is a helpful addition to the team, and crime has never been the same since. But despite all the craziness in the last year, nothing that has come before can possibly amount to what is about to happen.  
  
Shadow and Amy are getting married.  
  
We join everyone on the ancient Echidna home, Angel Island. In the capital of this veritable floating continent, Echidnaopolis, the story begins in the Temple of Chaos, the centerpiece of Angel Island. It is a magnificent ziggurat, surrounded by a square moat of water and lush gardens. Inside the temple is a massive vaulted chamber, with stained glass windows lining the walls. This massive hall was full of humans and anthropomorphs, mostly echidnas. There are several large buffet tables, and large pillars supporting the ceiling. At the far end of the rectangular hall was a huge fountain built into the wall. Stone serpents rose from the edge of the fountain, water spilling out of their mouths. Rising above the fountain was a giant stone cobra, with torches for eyes and a closed mouth. Above the cobra statue was a single large stained glass window, a serpent formed of water depicted on it. A small set of stairs led to an altar at the edge of the fountain. Against a few walls were seats where a chorus of Chao sang for the enjoyment of the crowd. All our heroes and our friends were there, Scales, Shadow, Amy, knuckles, Rouge, Robotnik, Big, and a few others that Scales herself did not recognize. Speaking of which, let's see what's going on, shall we? Scales was standing with Shadow near a buffet table, sipping some punch. Considering how important an event this was, both were wearing something other than their standard attire. To put it plainly, Scales was wearing a ribbon around one arm and Shadow had a small black bow tie. Shadow looked a little nervous. "When's this thing going to start? I've been waiting for ages!" Scales chuckled. "Shadow, relax. Your wedding will start in just a little bit, don't worry. You're not getting cold feet, are you?" Shadow glared at her. "Of course not! It's just that I'm a little anxious. I can't help worrying something will go wrong." "Shadow, stop it! This is your wedding day. You've been waiting a long time for it, so just relax! Enjoy the pre-matrimonial party! Celebrate your last few minutes of bachelorhood!" said Scales. Shadow shook his head. "No thanks, I did enough celebrating bachelorhood last night." The night before, Knuckles and Robotnik had taken Shadow for a night on the town. He had gotten quite drunk and almost ended up in some hooker's bed. At the same time, Scales and Rouge had also taken Amy for a sort of bachelor party. Staying away from clubs, they had a huge shopping spree at the local mall. Scales had gotten so caught up in shopping that she had nearly gotten several dresses for herself before remembering she didn't need clothes. "Then go out and mingle! Do something other than sit here and dump your troubles on me. Go on, shoo!" She said, pushing him into the crowd. He looked a little angry, but gave it up and went to talk to some people. Scales sipped some more punch and was suddenly aware that something weird was going on by the fountain. The water coming from each serpent petered out and came to a stop. The people around stopped their chattering when they noticed this. With a bit of a rumble and grind, the mouth of the cobra opened. A stream of water gushed out of the snake's mouth, dropping into the fountain. After a few seconds, the stream stopped flowing. The water that had come from the cobra seemed kind of weird, a little bluer than the rest of the water. It almost seemed to move through the rest, before suddenly emerging from the surface and moving onto the altar at the edge of the fountain. The blue water massed together and formed a body. It stood on two thin legs that ended in large feet, each with two long toes. It had a long, flexible tail that was slightly wagging. It had two long arms that ended in three great claws each. Its head had a tall protrusion on the top that extended into two long drooping fins or something that went down its back. It didn't have much for a face, just two green almond-shaped orbs for eyes, a curving fang-like fin growing down from either side of the head, and a pink sphere encased in a field of static in the depths of the creature's head. Scales had never attended a wedding before or heard of how the Echidnas did it, so she was naturally curious. What was that thing? The water being spoke. "Will the couple desiring marriage please come to the altar?" The creature's voice seemed louder than it should be, echoing through the chamber. Scales could see Shadow and Amy heading for the altar, meeting on the stairs and heading up. Amy had changed from her usual red miniskirt to a white one with embroidered flowers. Her red headband had a flower or two clipped to it, and she was wearing a necklace with a diamond in it, a gift from her father. Shadow and Amy stopped in front of the strange water creature. As the Chao chorus changed to an angelic song, the being spoke again. "Children of the Earth, we are gathered here today to unite these two hedgehogs in wedded bliss. Please bear in mind that any distractions or noises from you all before this ceremony is completed could possibly destroy the sanctity of this event. Therefore, please refrain from making any disruptions. And yes, you in the cheesy tuxedo, I'm talking to you." The being said, pointing at Professor Big, who was currently stuffing his face at the buffet with a disgusted Froggy nearby. Big quickly got up and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Thank you. Now, to continue. Once the decision is made, it shall be final and unbreakable, a sign of your eternal love for one another. Shadow Robotnik Hedgehog, do you take this female to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold through good times and bad times, through sickness and wellness, to love forevermore and stay with until the end of time itself?" Shadow, having gotten over his anxiety, answered without pause or hesitation. "I do." The being nodded and turned to Amy. "And do you, Amy Rose, take this male to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold through good times and bad times, through sickness and wellness, to love forevermore and stay with until the end of time itself?" "I do." Said Amy immediately, taking a sideways glance at Shadow. The being nodded and looked around. "If there are any who see reason that this loving couple should not be united in eternal matrimony, speak now or forever hold your silence." Thankfully, nobody raised their hands. The water being raised its hands. A ring with a ruby in it appeared on Shadow's ring finger, a ring with a sapphire appearing on Amy's. "Then by the power vested in me by the Creator, I, Chaos, God of Destruction pronounce these two hedgehogs husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Amy and Shadow leaned closer to each other and began to kiss. Chaos lowered his arms, signifying the ceremony was over. Everyone started applauding. Scales clapped as hard as she could, tears seeping from the corners of her eyes. My little brother's all grown up. She thought happily. Amy and Shadow eventually broke from their kiss and started down the altar, holding each other's hands. The applause grew louder. On the altar, Chaos seemed to smile, though it was pretty hard to tell since he didn't really have much of a face. But as soon as the beautiful scene had started, it started to fall apart. A shadow could be seen across a stained glass window. As the shadow broadened, the window suddenly shattered as something smashed through it, landing atop a buffet table. The gasps and screams from the public were substantial, considering the intruder. It was clearly a male. He was humanoid, six feet tall. His flesh was black and he did not have any clear "area" if you get my drift. His limbs were long and lanky. His feet did not have any toes, simply ending in sharp points. A barbed tail grew from his rear. Bony studs grew out of his legs. His chest was muscled and had a large tattoo of a yellow bat on it. Two great black bat wings grew from his back. He had no visible nose. His moth was fanged and outlined in gray. A red tattoo of a demon's face was on his forehead. He had no hair, nor any visible need of it considering how his entire body was black. He had two horns growing from the side of his head and a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Needless to say, he looked very much like a devil and it was perfectly understandable for the echidnas to panic. As many guests started streaming for the exit, more screams were heard as the ground burst open, another monster erupting from the floor. It was only four feet tall, but it looked quite dangerous and somewhat insectoid. His legs were long, greenish and looked like they had no actual joints, like they were made of solid flexible muscle. His feet each had three long sharp claws. His upper body was covered in a chitinous gray-blue armor and two huge plates of armor covered his shoulders. Each was long, curved, and had a spike growing from the top. His arms were much like the legs, no actual joints. They ended in a pair of armored hands, each with three great talons. Several curved spines grew up his back in a row. The intruder had a flexible neck and a face covered in a bony mask, hiding all features except for the formidable mandibles surrounding the intruder's toothy maw. The monster had green eyes. Two horns much like the other creature's grew from either side of the bone mask. More people panicked as another window shattered, a huge monster jumping through it and flattening a buffet table as it landed. This monster was fifteen feet tall and covered in a bony white armor. Its legs were thick and ended in feet that each had two claws. The legs joined in a spiky base. From the base grew a silvery faceted support, which held up the monster's great torso. It was like an oval and extended sideways, spotted with black dots. Each end of the oval ended in a shoulder that looked like a large organic ball, a head really. Each head was green and purple, with three blue eyes and a mouth lined with fangs running almost all around the side of the surface. From the bottom of these peculiar shoulders grew arms, each with an extremely round and thick lower arm, ending in a flat surface rimmed with three fingers, each of which split into two claws. The monster had no neck, merely a spiky armor ridge growing up the back and set atop the oval. Placed on the front of this ridge was an oval mask split into two portions, one white, one black. In the very middle of this mask was a hole from which a blue eye peered out. If this wasn't enough, the stained glass window over the cobra shattered and one last creature fell through it, landing atop the stone serpent. In a way, this creature was the worst of them all. It was seven feet tall. He was the only intruder with clothes. He wore large iron-tipped boots with three spikes at the end of each one. He wore dark jeans and a black leather jacket with 666 emblazoned on the back. A long rat tail grew from his rear. Two holsters holding some nasty pistols were attached to his back. His sleeves were long and had metal bands wrapped around them. He wore biker's gloves, each of which had the fingers torn through due to the creature's silvery claws. He wore a purple motorcycle helmet with the back cut out. A visor lowered over his upper face, enshrouding it. His bottom face, which was visible, had gray skin and a mouth with semi-sharp teeth. Spiky yellow- white hair grew from the back of the helmet. Two red eyes could be seen through the visor. A hole was cut into the helmet right above the visor, revealing a third eye, placed vertically in the intruder's head. He grinned down on the shocked people and said. "This is where you start running." After a moment, they did just that, screaming and running for the exit. The intruders made no move to stop them, rather they laughed at the fleeing populace. Scales saw Shadow, Amy, Knuckles and Rouge push through the crowd, obviously not leaving. Scales was about to stay and help out her friends, until she saw the Chao chorus were still in their seats, wailing. Chaos was moving about, trying to gather them up, but it was obvious he wouldn't be fast enough to save the Chao if a battle were going to start. Scales quickly warped over to the little things, scaring them even more. "It's okay, it's okay!" She said reassuringly. "I'm here to save you. Now gather around Auntie Scales, and we'll be out of here faster than you can say 'Chaos Control.'" A little worried, the cute little critters grabbed hold of her legs. Chaos noticed what she was doing and started herding the other Chao towards the lizard. When all the Chao and the strange water being were close enough, Scales focused on her Emerald's power, reaching out to hold everything near her, not just the stuff touching. "CHAOS CONTROL!" There was a flash and the whole group was warped outside. Chaos stumbled a little when he saw he was outside of his temple. He looked at Scales, shock visible in his green eyes. "How did you." he looked a little closer. "You have it.the eighth Emerald." Scales was too busy being mass hugged by the grateful Chao to pay attention to what Chaos was saying. "Okay, I'm glad you're all okay, now can you please get off of me?"  
  
Inside the temple, everyone had gotten out. Everyone except the four intruders and the four heroes. "What do you want here? How dare you ruin our wedding!" Amy yelled at the creature on top of the cobra. The three-eyed biker-looking monster grinned. "Mephistopheles," he said, pointing to the black monster with bat wings. He sneered. "Lucifer," he said, pointing to the large bug-like monster. The creature chittered. "Baal," he said, pointing to the big monster. The creature grunted. "And as for me," said the biker, pointing to himself. "I'm Beelzebub. And together, we are the Demonic Four. We've come for your Chaos Emerald." Shadow's eyes narrowed. "Who sent you?" Beelzebub waved a finger. "Ah, can't tell you that. The boss said to take the Emerald and run. Now are you gonna fork it over, or do me and my brothers have to get tough?" Knuckles looked at his companions. "Hey guys, would any of you object to kicking these freak's rear ends?" "I'd love to. It's been a while since I've had a good fight." Said Rouge. "I'll show these goons not to ruin my wedding." Growled Amy, taking out the infamous Piko Piko Hammer. "I have no problem, Knuckles. Let's take them one-on-one, shall we? Rouge, you take the guy with the bat wings. Knux, you can have the bug. Amy, I'm confident you can take on the big guy. As for me, I think I'm in the mood for a little rat." Shadow said, looking at Beelzebub. The stranger sneered. "You think you can take us on? So be it! Boys, get 'em!" The monsters headed towards the anthropomorphs, who split up, each heading for their respective intruder.  
  
Rouge stopped in front of Mephistopheles. "Come on, tall dark and handsome, show me what you've got!" "My pleasure." Mephistopheles took to the air, startling Rouge. "Hey, those wings aren't big enough to let you actually fly!" she yelled up at him. "Ask me if I care!" he yelled down at her as he suddenly shot down in a spinning drive, pointed feet first. Rouge rolled out of the way as the creature struck the ground, avoiding something very much like a drill drive. She launched into a powerful kick before he could lift off again, smashing him into a pillar. As he tried to pull himself out, Rouge let him have it with a Black Wave. The special attack blasted him straight through the pillar and onto a buffet table, breaking it and sending food flying. Rouge ran around the pillar and was surprised when Mephistopheles got up, not looking very damaged at all. "Nice one. Would you like to see my wave attack?" He spread his wings wide, pointing his long arms at Rouge. "Screaming Evil!" Rouge's ears vibrated, sensing a high-pitched noise. She dove behind the support pillar as the intruder shot a high-intensity sonic blast at her, completely shattering the window he had hit instead of Rouge. He took to the air again and started flying behind the column, only to find she wasn't there. "Huh? Where did-" "Hey handsome, look up!" yelled Rouge from higher up the column. Mephistopheles looked up just in time to see Rouge kick off the side of the column and shoot down in a drill drive, knocking the devil to the ground. He moaned and tried to get up, only to have Rouge kick him into a buffet table. She ran towards him and started kicking his chest repeatedly, causing the monster plenty of pain. He suddenly grabbed her leg before she could launch another kick and stood up, holding Rouge upside down. He hurled her at the column as hard as he could. Rouge flipped around in midair and grabbed the column as she hit it, then began climbing up. Frustrated, Mephistopheles started to fly up after the climbing bat. He stayed out from under her to prevent her from using a drill drive, then started charging up his special move when he was level with her. Rouge kicked off from the wall and glided into Mephistopheles before he could unleash the attack, knocking him from the air. As he tried to regain his flight, Rouge shot down at him with a drill drive, sending him to the ground hard and really doing a number on his chest. He struggled to get up, until Rouge kicked him in the head, knocking him out. Rouge blew on her spiked knuckles. "Yep, I've still got it." She said.  
  
Knuckles squared off with Lucifer. "Those fists of yours look pretty strong. Not as strong as mine, of course." Said the monster. "Oh really? Why don't we just see about that!" said Knuckles, charging towards the bug. Before he could land a blow, Lucifer burrowed underground, popping up a second later and sending Knuckles flying. Knuckles got up from where he had landed and started charging towards the insect again. As Lucifer dug underground, Knuckles paused, his senses telling him where the monster would emerge. He jumped out of the way as Lucifer popped out of the ground where he had been standing. Before the bug could register anything, Knuckles delivered a powerful blow to the insect's face. Lucifer staggered back and swiped at Knuckles with its large claws, slashing across the echidna's chest. Knuckles winced, hiding the pain. "It'll take more than that to put me down!" he yelled. "Like this?" asked Lucifer, a fist flying forward and knocking Knuckles through a buffet table. As the echidna started to get up, Lucifer submerged himself and headed for Knuckles. Just as Knuckles was about to get hit by Lucifer from underground, he jumped away and punched the bug as he emerged. Lucifer growled and jumped backwards, clinging to a support column with one hand. "Let's see you dodge this so easily, tough guy! Inferno Blast!" A huge ball of fire manifested in the air and shot down towards Knuckles. His eyes widened and he tried to jump out of the way. The fireball struck the ground and exploded, sending Knuckles hurtling away. He lay on the ground, not moving. Lucifer giggled and dropped from the pillar, walking over to the echidna. As he was about to take a bite out of Knuckles, the echidna shot a spiked fist up, right into Lucifer's mandibles. The bug screamed and reeled back, clutching his equivalent of a jaw. While the insect was distracted, Knuckles prepared his own special move. "Thunder Arrow!" A ball of yellow electricity appeared over his head. A yellow bolt of energy shaped like an arrowhead shot for Lucifer, hitting him and putting the bug down for the count. "That's what happens to any vermin who cause trouble on my island!"  
  
Amy glared up at the towering Baal. The giant laughed. "You puny pathetic thing. Do you really think you can harm me with that comedic hammer?" Amy's eyes narrowed. "You creeps busted in on my wedding ceremony uninvited, scare all the guests, and now demand my new husband's Emerald. I'll show you what happens when you make me mad!" Wielding her hammer, she ran at Baal. The great monster slammed a fist down, trying to pulverize Amy. She jumped out of the way of the arm and then hopped on. As Baal raised his arm back up, Amy launched herself from the limb with a Hammer Jump and swung her choice weapon right in the monster's face, knocking him back. Baal grunted and swung his right arm around. Amy swung her hammer at the exact same time, connecting with Baal's appendage. The resulting blow knocked both of them back a few steps. The giant gave up trying to pulverize Amy. He crouched down and suddenly jumped really high in the air, falling towards Amy. She rolled away from the giant's shadow before he hit the ground, cracking the floor. Baal turned to see Amy launching from a Hammer Jump. He had no time to block as she brought her hammer down on his face, knocking him to the ground. As the big monster struggled to get up, Amy hit him again and again and again with her hammer. Baal grabbed Amy with one of his odd fingers and flung her at a pillar. She hit the stone column and fell to the ground, hurt. Baal loomed over her and raised an arm, intending to smash the pink hedgehog to a pulp. Amy rolled away as Baal smashed his arm into the ground. She jumped onto his limb, launched herself off with a Hammer Jump, and swung her hammer into the monster's face, knocking him back. Growling, Baal was furious. He had had enough. "Okay you little nothing, take this!" His shoulders/heads opened wide, revealing a dark, hollow interior. Energy started to collect in the gaping maws of either shoulder. "Elder Shot!" Two huge balls of darkness shot from the shoulders. Amy sidestepped one all and immediately swung her hammer, hitting the other ball. Baal was more than a little surprised when, instead of exploding at contact with the hammer, the dark ball shot back along its original vector! Before he could move, the ball flew right into the shoulder/mouth that had created it and exploded. Baal roared in pain as his shoulder screeched in agony. Amy took advantage of Baal's moment of weakness and launched herself at his head with another Hammer Jump. She held her hammer up as she got higher in the air. "Time to finish this! Storming Heart!" Her body glowed as dozens of pink hearts formed in the air and shot for Baal's mask, each hitting and exploding, causing more and more damage. As the last heart exploded, Baal's vision cleared to see Amy's hammer about to hit him. Amy smashed her hammer into Baal's face and fell to the ground. The giant stood there for a moment, stunned, before he toppled, causing the ground to shake with impact. Amy put the hammer away and spit at Baal. "You shouldn't have messed with my wedding, bub. Like all roses, I have thorns."  
  
Shadow ran towards Beelzebub. The menacing intruder whipped out both of his powerful guns and started shooting at the hedgehog. Shadow veered to the right or left, zigzagging to avoid the bullets. Beelzebub started leading his shots, trying to get Shadow to run into his fire. It didn't work. The dark hedgehog continued to avoid the bullets. He stopped when he got to the altar at the edge of the fountain. Beelzebub fired again. Shadow held his hands out as the intruder fired about a dozen rounds at him. Shadow's hands snatched the bullets out of midair, catching them all harmlessly. As Beelzebub stared at him, impressed, Shadow wound back his arms and threw the bullets at somewhere around the speed of sound. Several of the bullets pierced Beelzebub's flesh, leaving noticeable holes on his clothes and jacket. A couple of rounds shot straight into the barrels of his pistols, causing them to blow up in his hands. The intruder cursed and dropped the guns, shaking his hands. The intruder grimaced at Shadow. "Dammit, do you know how much damage you've just done to my jacket?" Shadow blinked. "Impossible! I just threw a dozen bullets at you at Mach 1 or thereabouts. How can you still be standing?" Beelzebub laughed. "Let's just say I was never a baby. You may have taken out my pistols, but my claws are still primed and ready for blood!" Beelzebub ran to the end of the cobra's snout and jumped off, lunging for Shadow. He jumped out of the way, causing the intruder to smash headfirst into the altar, cracking it. Beelzebub grunted and got up. "Good thing I always wear this helmet." Shadow instantly knocked into him with a Homing Attack, knocking Beelzebub into the fountain. The intruder jumped out of the water immediately and kicked at Shadow with one of his spiked boots, sending the hedgehog through the altar. Yes, I mean he smashed through the altar and hit the ground at the bottom of the stairs. Beelzebub ran down to Shadow, claws ready. Shadow groaned and got to his feet. As Beelzebub was about to claw him, Shadow raised a foot towards the intruder and activated his jets, hitting the freak with flames from his specialized shoes. Beelzebub roared in anger, seeing how his jacket was burnt. He beat out the flames and swung a fist at Shadow. He dodged the punch and ran around Beelzebub, knocking him over with a Homing Attack. Beelzebub got up and deflected Shadow's next Homing Attack with a fist, knocking Shadow to the ground. Beelzebub started preparing his special attack. His silver claws started glowing purple. Realizing this was bad, Shadow got up and started running as Beelzebub raced towards him, claws out and glowing. Getting an idea, Shadow ran straight for a support column. When he reached the base, he spun around, waiting for Beelzebub. The intruder was almost on him. Beelzebub grinned, his special attack charged. "Darkness Claw!" He slashed with both claws, leaving a trail of purple energy. Shadow jumped over Beelzebub's head at exactly the right moment, causing the monster to slice through the support column. As Beelzebub's three eyes bulged in horror, the column rumbled and tilted over. He screamed and started to run away, but wasn't fast enough. The pillar collapsed, smashing him into the ground. Shadow shook his head at the sight. "What a waste. Wish I could have found out where he came from." Suddenly, a portion of the fallen column shattered, Beelzebub jumping out from the dust cloud. He was clearly pissed. "Okay, that does it! No more mister nice guy!" As the enraged monster raced towards him, Shadow pulled out his Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Spear!" A huge bolt of green lightning shot towards Beelzebub, striking him. He screamed, crackling with electricity, and fell to the ground. Shadow blew pretend smoke from his Chaos Emerald and put it away. He left to see if the others were done fighting as well.  
  
Outside, Scales finally got the Chao off of her. "All right, I'd better go see if Shadow and the others are okay." As she headed towards the ziggurat, all the people around her gasped, looking upward. Getting a bad feeling, Scales did the same thing. She gaped. Floating above the temple was a gargantuan airship. It was shaped sort of like a huge plane, but extremely thick and with wings making up part of the main fuselage. There were hundreds of jet engines and propellers keeping the thing aloft. On the very front of the ship was a huge rounded area pointing outwards. On this rounded area was painted a very familiar and terrifying image. Snively's face. Hatches on the bottom of the giant airship opened. Cannons lowered from the hatches and started firing at the ziggurat. Everyone but Scales took cover as the weapons caused the upper part of the temple to explode, showering debris everywhere. The weapons retracted and some more hatches opened up. Beams of light shone from these hatches, searching through the rubble of the wedding hall. There were eight beams in total. The beams found the unconscious figures of the eight people still in the building, the Demonic Four and Shadow and the others. As the beams shone on the right figures, they started to lift into the air, heading towards the ship. Scales ran forward, trying to get to one of the beams before they were gone. She was too late. All eight were taken inside the hatches, where they closed, the beams disappearing. The giant airship turned and started flying away. Desperate, Scales ran after it, running past startled echidnas and other people, jumping over passing cars while keeping an eye on the airship. After a few minutes of chasing after it, she saw the ship stop above the tallest building in the city, Guardian's Tower. This great skyscraper was built as a hotel/casino and the top areas were reserved for the current Guardian and his family. It was also where the Master Emerald was kept. That was bad. More cannons popped out of the ship's belly and fired at the top of the tower, sending Knuckles' and Rouge's home up in flames and reducing the residence of Knuckles' ancestors for many generations to be destroyed. As Scales watched helplessly, another tractor beam emerged and searched through the debris at the top of the tower. It stopped for a moment then began to retract, carrying a huge green jewel, the Master Emerald, with it. Scales moaned. "Oh no!" As the Master Emerald vanished into the giant airship, the whole island shook. The ship seemed to recede from view as the great floating landmass fell from the sky, crashing into the sea. The island quaked. Scales lost her footing, half expecting the whole thing to go under. She was quite relieved when, after a moment of shaking, the island was as still as it was before. Granted, it was no longer flying, but at least it was safe for the moment. Scales growled as she saw the ship fly away, heading east. She was about to try and think of a way to go after the giant flying machine when something tugged at her arm. Scales looked around and saw an echidna standing next to her. She was pink, though a little less so than Amy. She had a few white stripes of fur on her dreadlocks/spines and one large one on her chest. She wore a skirt with diamond patterns on it, sandals, and a necklace with a large sapphire in it. She wore a blue band on each wrist and a gold band on each arm. She had a gold headband with another sapphire set in it. She had startling green eyes. She didn't look much older than 20. "Excuse me, are you Scales?" she asked. "Yes, why?" Scales asked the echidna. The girl smiled. "Could you please follow me? Chaos wishes to speak with you." A little confused, Scales followed the echidna away from the Guardian Tower and through the mobs of stricken islanders.  
  
And so the first chapter ends. Where did the Demonic Four come from? What was the deal with that airship bearing Snively's mark? Who is behind this new evil? And what the heck does Chaos want with Scales? For some of the answers, read the next chapter! And please review! 


	2. The Ballad of Chaos and Tikal

I hope you all are reading and enjoying this story. In this chapter, a long- held mystery is finally revealed. At long last, the origin of the Chaos Emeralds and of Chaos himself if revealed. And Scales learns some of her destiny as bearer of the eighth Chaos Emerald. Read on, my friend, read on. Disclaimer: I OWN the Chaos Emeralds! Well, the eighth one that is. I own the histories of the Emeralds, though, and that's almost as good isn't it?  
  
Day 0, 9:00 PM  
  
Scales was getting understandably frustrated. This strange echidna girl had taken her out of the city and was leading her to some strange spot on the island. The girl was unresponsive to any questions Scales asked, doing nothing but leading the way. As Scales was about to demand some information, the girl stopped. "We have arrived." She said. Scales looked ahead and was a bit awed. They were in an open field, filled with grass and flowers. All over the place were Chao, laughing, running, playing games. In the middle of the clearing was a row of ancient pillars, lining a wide marble path to a large ancient shrine. In the middle of the path was a big pool of water that the Chao stayed away from. The echidna led Scales past the energetic little darlings and stopped at the edge of the pool. She leaned over the water. "Chaos, honey, I'm home!" She stepped back as the water bulged upward. Fully formed, Chaos stepped from the pool. "Tikal, good to see you back. Same to you, Scales." "I'll go play with the Chao while you talk business with Scales, okay? See you in bed, dear!" The echidna, Tikal, gave Chaos a quick kiss on the cheek before running off to play with the Chao, who seemed to like her a lot. Scales examined Chaos. Was it just her, or was he blushing? It was hard to tell, but she thought she saw some reddening around where Chaos' cheeks would have been. The color quickly faded away. "So, uh, Scales, you're probably wondering why I wanted to talk to you." Scales' more feminine side kicked in. "There's something going on between you and that girl, isn't there?" Chaos started blushing again. "Wh-what? O-of course there's nothing going on. What makes you say that?" "You have the signs." Scales said wisely. Chaos gave a watery sigh. "Is it that obvious?" Scales nodded. "Well, yes, we have been.together for a long time if you catch my drift." "I understand. What is this place?" Scales said, looking around the ancient place. "This is my home, mine and Tikal's. Thousands of years ago, this shrine was the resting place of the Master Emerald. Now it's only purpose is to serve as a refuge for Tikal and I, away from the rest of Angel Island, except when we are needed of course." Chaos explained. "I see. So what did Tikal bring me here for?" Scales asked, needing to know. Chaos paused, then gestured to the steps leading to the shrine. "Why don't we sit down. It's kind of a long story." Scales shrugged and followed him to the steps leading into the shrine. They sat down. Chaos turned his head to face Scales. "Now, a long time." He stopped. "What are you doing?" Scales was trying to peer through the doorway of the shrine. The lights were off, so she couldn't see much. "I'm trying to see what's in there." She said. "Ah, there's nothing to concern you in there-" Chaos said a little anxiously. "I think I can see a widescreen TV, a few Chao pictures, some indiscernible stuff, and something I can't quite make out." Scales peered harder into the darkness, trying to make out the details on this last object. "Hey, is that a vibrating love bed?" she asked. "THERE IS NOTHING TO CONCERN YOU IN THERE! PLEASE SIT DOWN AND PAY ATTENTION!" Chaos yelled, frantic. Scales looked at him, surprised, and sat down. "All right. Let me begin the story." "By the way, what story is this?" Scales asked. Chaos tilted his head back. "A story of many things. My life, the creation of Chao, and the origin of the Chaos Emeralds." "Oh, all right. I've never heard this story before." Scales said, hunkering down. "Good. Now listen carefully." Chaos began the tale.  
  
A very long time ago, sometime after the Great War that ended in the banishment of the God of Evil, the Dark One, things began to change greatly in Heaven and in the mortal realms. Chaos, god of destruction was unhappy by all of the stereotypes that were now placed on him by the mortals and his peers. He was always portrayed as a bloodthirsty monster, eager to devastate entire worlds to satisfy a never-ending lust for violence. This was not true, of course. Chaos was actually quite insecure about such things, and thought it unfair that everyone thought he was a warmonger just because he was the so-called embodiment of destruction. To prove everyone wrong, Chaos set out to create something that could never be used for war. He strived for years to create a creature that represented purity and innocence, a creature that would never even think of killing another being as long as it lived. He tried to create a being that would be full of love for everyone and could instill that same love in others. He succeeded, and created the first Chao. When he presented his new child to the other deities, they were immediately won over by its incredible cuteness and took back everything they had said about Chaos. At the request of his mother, the Goddess of Infinity, Chaos created more Chao and spread them all over, to grow and help develop a lifestyle of sorts. People found the Chao eggs and hatched them, raising Chao of their own. This was all well and good, but Chaos was a bit anxious. He had put so much time and effort into the Chao that it was only sensible for him to love them more than anyone else. He was constantly worrying that they weren't receiving the right care, or that some Chao would hatch alone and unwanted. He couldn't let that happen. He went to his mother and asked permission of her to stay in the mortal realm, to guard and protect the Chao for all eternity. Reluctantly, she agreed to let him go, but there was a catch of sorts. A full deity could not remain in the mortal worlds for long. Chaos would have to relinquish his powers and become a mere immortal being. Chaos quickly agreed, under the condition that his powers would not be disposed of, merely contained in vessels that could be easily accessed if he needed them to protect his children. The Goddess of Infinity took Chaos' power and split it into seven parts, encasing each in a jewel. She then made an eighth gem, one containing a fragment of her own powers. This gem would supersede the powers of the other gemstones, for although Chaos could use all seven to temporarily regain his true form, there was always a chance that someone else would take the jewels and use their power for evil. If such an occurrence happened, then the jewel she created could be used to neutralize or control the powers of the other seven.  
  
"Was this jewel the Master Emerald?" Scales asked, the story gaining her interest. Chaos shook his head. "No, no. The jewel my Mother made could be called the Master Emerald, but it is not the one you are thinking of." "Then what was it?" Scales asked. "The Emerald in your life support system." Chaos said. Scales' eyes widened. "It is?!" "Yes." "But then what are the Master and Super Emeralds?" she asked, confused. "I'm getting to that. Let me continue."  
  
After Chaos arrived on the planet where the most Chaos were, Earth, he hid the true Master Emerald and made a weaker copy of it, one to throw off any prospecting treasure hunters. He did this because he knew that although the black Master Emerald was to be used to control the seven Chaos in case of emergencies, what if somebody stole it as well as the seven? Therefore, he needed a backup, a decoy. The Master Emerald he created was similar to the black one in the sense that it would neutralize the powers of the Chaos Emeralds, but when used in full conjunction with the seven it would not have as powerful as a result as all eight original emeralds gathered together. He also made copies of the Chaos Emeralds, using a form of mathematical magic to make the power contained in an individual Super Emerald slightly greater than that of a single Chaos Emerald. However, while the combined power of all seven Super Emeralds and the Master Emerald would be enough to make any being a god, the same could be said if all eight true Emeralds were united under one mind, one person, the person destined to use them all to vanquish evil.  
  
"Let me guess. I'm this destined one?" Scales guessed. Chaos nodded. "Pretty much, yeah." "Interesting. I guess it kinda makes sense, considering how the black Emerald was the only one that worked with my life support when the others didn't. I guess that's because it sensed I was the right person to hold it?" Said Scales. Chaos nodded. "Cool. Keep telling your story." Chaos started again.  
  
Chaos hid the Super Emeralds in a different place then where he had hidden the true Master, somewhere deep underground, in a Hidden Palace of sorts. He erected a shrine in which to keep the Master Emerald and the seven Chaos. After a few years had passed in which Chaos happily tended the Chao, a tribe of echidnas, the leader of whom was always born with a crescent moon on their chest, moved to the land where the Chaos shrine was kept. Despite many close conflicts, the tribe and Chaos made peace and promised not to bother one another. So Chaos and the Chao lived in peaceful coexistence with the clan of the Crescent. However, a hundred years later that would all change. Pachamac, the leader of the rival Knuckles clan, had set his eye on the power of Chaos. Pachamac was a brave, bold, yet arrogant echidna, one who desired power above all else. He united his clan into a mighty army, using it to conquer other countries in a quest to rule the world. He coveted the power of Chaos, the power of the gods themselves, more than anything else, even his own kin. And that is where a new character enters the story. Pachamac's daughter, the Princess of the Knuckles Clan, Tikal.  
  
"Ah, so this is where your girlfriend enters the story." Scales said slyly. Chaos sputtered. "She wasn't my girlfriend then! Look, you don't have to listen to all this. I've already told you what I really needed to, how you are destined to use the power of all eight original Emeralds against evil. There's other stuff I need to tell you as well." Scales shook her head. "No, no, keep going! I want to hear all of it!" Chaos sighed. "Fine. Let's keep going. Where were we? Ah yes, Tikal."  
  
Tikal was not happy with her father's thirst for conquest and the need to rule the world. She opposed him, but could do nothing. Back in those days, females were not as valued as they are now. Anyway, she could do nothing to prevent her father from trying to conquer the land of the Crescent clan and the shrine of Chaos. After the Knuckles clan had set up a city near the land of the Crescent clan, she snuck out by herself to try to warn the other tribe. They didn't listen to her, dismissing her as a silly little girl. Disgusted, she instead went to the Chaos shrine, hoping she could convince the guardian of the Emeralds of the danger her father represented. Of course, she was in for a surprise when she encountered Chaos and the Chao for the very first time. After the god had decided she wasn't a threat, he allowed her to visit the shrine as often as she liked. He believed her warning about Pachamac, but believed he was more than powerful enough to stop the entire army if necessary. Tikal wasn't sure, but believed her friend and took care of the Chao with him. But then, the day of the invasion came at last. Tikal had tried on numerous occasions to convince her father to leave the shrine alone, but he paid no attention to her, going so far as to actually lock her up to keep her from interfering. The Knuckles army assaulted the Crescent echidnas, engaging in a fierce battle. While one detachment was fighting the Crescent echidnas, Pachamac led the rest of the army to attack the shrine. Now, while this was going on, Chaos had heard Tikal's cries for help on the astral plane. Actually going so far as to leave the Chao unguarded, Chaos sped off to save his friend.  
  
"Ah, so you actually went so far as to leave your precious children for her! I guess that was evidence you loved her?" Scales said playfully. Chaos growled, but gave in. "Yeah, I guess. But it was because I sped off that something bad happened. I mean, I guess I can't really blame anyone but Pachamac, after all, he locked her up in the first place so I just had to rescue her, leaving the Chao and the shrine unguarded and.and." He stopped. "By my Mother, I hate this next part." "I won't make you tell me if it's too painful." Scales said gently. Chaos shook his head. "No, you wanted to hear the whole thing, and hear it you shall."  
  
Chaos easily overpowered the guards in the city and released Tikal. She told him that even now her father was heading for the shrine. With no time to lose, he rushed for home, leaving Tikal behind. Chaos got to the shrine and called on two-sevenths of his old power, scaring away the soldiers and Pachamac. However, then he saw what the army had done before he had gotten there. The Chao were dead. Every last one of them had been brutally slaughtered by the echidnas. And this is where Chaos went insane. Completely and totally driven over the edge by the death of his children, Chaos decided in a moment of insane logic that the world was a very bad place for the rest of the Chao to grow up in. Therefore, anything bad had to be eradicated to ensure his children's safety. And at the moment, "anything bad" included every thing that walked and breathed on the face of the Earth. Summoning the power of all seven Chaos Emeralds, Chaos regained his true form, a god once again. In his Infinite form, Perfect Chaos, he stormed towards the main village of the Crescent clan, only to find it had been wiped out. There were still other villages, safe for the moment, but Chaos' only thought was to eradicate the ones who had killed his children before he started erasing all life on Earth. He went to the city of the Knuckles clan and began killing everything he saw, bringing buildings down to their very foundations, drowning hundreds in his awesome body mass. He ripped Pachamac, the one who had done this horrible thing, into numerous pieces before swallowing him up. Tikal saw this grisly display and was understandably terrified. She raced for the shrine, stumbling across the horrible fate of the Chao, and headed for the Master Emerald. She prayed to the Emerald, remembering how Chaos had once told her the Master Emerald held power over the seven Chaos Emeralds. She prayed for her dear friend, the being she was starting to have feelings for, to stop this rampage and bloodshed, to become the one she had fallen for in the first place. Sadly, because the Master Emerald was naught but a copy, it could not fulfill Tikal's request. Instead, it did the thing it thought best. It drained the Chaos Emeralds from Perfect Chaos and absorbed his essence, leaving the Emeralds in the shrine. Tikal saw that Chaos was being sucked in, and threw herself after him, not wanting him to be sealed alone in the Emerald forever. With Chaos gone, the remaining echidnas were safe. The Crescent leader was still alive, so took control of the remaining echidnas from both tribes. They banded together, putting the past behind them, and moved to the Crescent land. The leader of the clan used the power of the Master Emerald to raise his land from the Earth, forming Angel Island, a haven where hopefully no evil forces would threaten them. They flew around the world, scattering the Chaos Emeralds around the planet, not knowing of the hidden Super Emeralds or the real Master. They did this to keep anyone from collecting them all at once and using them for any reason.  
  
"The rest, as you say, is history. Tikal and I remained in the Emerald until Snively discovered my power and broke the Master Emerald, releasing both of us. He used an unfortunate brainwashing technique to make me serve him, reminding me of nothing but how the ones who slaughtered my children must pay. Shadow found the remaining Chaos Emeralds after I had used all seven to achieve my Perfect form, and used their power to actually defeat me and return me to normal." Chaos said, finishing the story. "I settled down here on Angel Island with Tikal and the Chao, helping the inhabitants now and then with stuff like marriages." Scales clapped. "Great story! Now, you said there was something else you had to tell me?" Chaos nodded. "When I was released, the Island was near a place in California called Station Square. We are currently floating just out to sea from Station Square. When I was released, all seven Chaos Emeralds were in fairly close proximity, including the one Shadow possessed. I can currently sense all seven Emeralds somewhere around Station Square. Do you get my drift?" Scales blinked, astonished at the implications. "History is repeating itself?" "In a way, yes. When this same thing happened before, Snively had created a giant airship called the Snivel Carrier. The first two models were destroyed, but I can safely say that this is another one in the same line." Said Chaos. Scales frowned. "But Snively can't be behind this! He's dead!" "Yes, but somebody else is definitely causing all this. It is your job to find out what is going on before the mysterious villain can get all seven Chaos Emeralds, for that is surely what he is after. He already has one, your brother's. You must move swiftly and find the other six and take the seventh back if you are to save your friends, and possibly the world from this new evil." Said Chaos. "You are the only one who can do this. Do you accept your duty to stop this evil?" Scales nodded without hesitation. "Of course. It's what I was made to do, after all." Chaos bowed his head. "Thank you. If you should ever need Tikal or my assistance, we will help you any way we can." "Thank you. If you will excuse me, I have to get back to town to tell Robotnik all this so we can work on getting the Emeralds." Said Scales. Chaos nodded. "Go now. May fortune be with you." "Thanks, I think. Chaos Control!" Scales warped away, leaving Chaos and Tikal alone with the Chao.  
  
And another chapter is done! Sorry that this one is shorter than the last. Don't worry, in the next chapter the action begins in the first level! Which, unfortunately, really isn't going to be that good compared to her levels in the last story, but hey, this is her first solo story! We should be proud of her for that, right? Anyway, I hope you liked my explanations for everything. Please review! 


	3. The Quest begins

Wow, I sure am writing fast aren't I? Oh well! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter. By the way Maverick, I used certain Digimon figures because I thought they would seem more demonic. Wargreymon is admittedly cool, but he's not devilish enough. Specifically, he doesn't have a name like a devil or look much like a demon. That's why Beelzemon is a much better candidate. Plus, I think he's cool too. Sorry if I've offended you in any way. By the way, at the end of this chapter we're starting a special feature! Wait until later to see what it is. Disclaimer: Buh.  
  
Day 1, 10:00 AM  
  
Scales stepped out of the raft, now on a beach. After her encounter with Chaos, she had told Big and Robotnik everything she had learned. They were, needless to say, more than a little shocked. After they recovered and slept a little, they tried to figure out a way for Scales get to Station Square. Since they weren't close enough for her to see the city and warp there, she had to take a raft all the way. It had taken a little while, but Scales had managed to get to the Emerald Coast, Station Square's beach. Scales sat down, resting for a moment, and called Robotnik to let him know where she was. "Doctor, I've made it to the Emerald Coast. Does the Emerald radar pick up anything?" "Actually, yes!" said Robotnik from the hotel room on Angel Island. "I'm picking up readings of a Chaos Emerald right on the beach. Try to find it." Scales got up. "Gotcha doc. I'm heading out now." She hung up and headed down the beach, ignoring the odd looks given to her by the numerous people lounging on the beach. Going into battle mode, Scales started looking for trouble.  
  
Stage 1: Emerald Coast. Mission: Find the Chaos Emerald.  
  
Scales walked down the beach, passing some boardwalk shops and numerous sunbathers. Eventually, she got to an open cape. She started heading down it, and was almost run over by a robot that looked like a cute rhino. She smashed the robot with her tail and looked forward to see a dozen more rhinos rushing towards her. She smashed them all apart and continued down the cape. She saw a ramp at the end of the beach. She ran up the ramp and bounced off the spring at the end, landing on a section of pier. She followed the pier forward, then turned right, walking down another stretch. A Unidus flew towards her. She hit it with a Homing Kick, hitting it from above to avoid the spinning spike balls. Once the robot was gone, she continued down the pier. She turned right again, walked a ways, and then turned right again, following the pier to a dash plate. She ran across the dash panel and sped through a loop, launching from a dash plate at the end and landing on a small island. She followed the beach around the island, smashing the rhino robots that charged at her, and found a spring. She bounced off the spring and shot up, landing on a ledge high up the island. She saw a stone path leading down and ran along it. She went along a tight curve, past lots of Unidus and finally going over a few dash panels and zooming through a pair of loops, launching from a jump plate and landing on a small island with a tunnel leading to the other side. A spiked gate blocked her way. She jumped over it and ran down the tunnel, coming to the start of a long pier. She started running down the pier. As soon as she was a little way down the pier, a killer whale shot up and started coming after her, smashing through the boardwalk as it went! Frightened, Scales started moving, running as fast as she could to get away from the ravenous whale. She ran for five minutes straight down the pier, turning right and following another long stretch, still pursued by the whale. She turned left again, running down a short stretch, then turned left once more, coming to the end of the pier and bouncing from a spring to a different pier. She ran down the pier and turned right, still trying to get away from the killer whale. She got to the end of the pier and bounced from a spring, landing on a beach on a small island. Disappointed, the whale finished smashing up the pier and swam away. Relieved, Scales started walking around the beach, looking for a path. Several Kikis, who quickly regretted it, attacked her. She found a ramp and ran up it, leading to a path that went into a loop. She ran over some dash panels and went through the loop, jumping from the end and landing on a ledge. She jumped from the ledge to a floating platform, and jumped from there to a floating platform with a spring. She bounced from the spring and ricocheted off a higher spring, landing on a partially broken bridge. She ran down the bridge, jumping over two gaps, and came to a lighthouse guarded by a Gola. She ducked under the robot's spinning flames and smashed it from underneath. She ran around the lighthouse and across a bridge leading to another island, entering a cave. She ran out of the cave and came to a path going along a wall, with a pool and a waterfall next to it. She ran down the path, smashing Rhino Tanks in her way, and found the road curved up to the wall. She shrugged and started running faster, going up the wall and using her speed to stay on it. She ran sideways on the wall, moving fast enough to stay there but also taking time to admire the lovely tropical atmosphere. She ran through some spiked bars and past another pool of water. She ran over some dash panels and shot through an archway, going through two loops and hurtling off the edge, landing on another beach. She saw a stone path leading up the island, and ran along it, coming to a green grassy overlook of the sea. She saw a weird panel on the ground. She looked at it, curious. Suddenly, a pink ball of light appeared. "That's a jump pad. If you step on it and jump, you will be launched up much like a spring. Use it to reach the pads in the air, and jump from those to reach the next part of the path. Don't stay on a floating jump pad too long, or you'll fall off." Scales blinked. "Uh, who are you?" The ball flickered a little. "I'm Tikal! This is my ethereal form. Chaos sent me to help you out in certain spots." "Oh! Thanks. Tell him I said hi, okay?" Scales said, a little surprised. "I will. Good luck Scales!" Tikal flew away. Scales stood on the pad and jumped, shooting into the air. She landed on another pad and immediately jumped again, landing on another pad. She jumped once more and landed on the start of a new path. She ran ahead a little, killed a Kiki, and found a jump pad. She jumped on it and landed on a higher path. She ran down it and found another jump pad in front of a small cliff. She jumped from the pad and landed on top of the cliff, where she saw another pad. She jumped on it and reached a stone pinnacle with a spring. She bounced from the spring and landed on a grassy plateau with a few Golas. She killed the fire robots and bounced from another spring to a new island, landing on a grassy spit leading to a stone path. She ran down the path after killing a Unidus, went over a dash panel, and shot through a loop. She came off the end and onto a winding grassy strip of land. She came to the end and found a spring. She bounced from the spring and landed on a small sandbar with another, larger sandbar nearby. She jumped to the other sandbar, killed a couple of Rhino Tanks, and followed the sandbar until her own Chaos senses started going off. She stopped where they reacted the most, on a patch of bare sand. Getting an idea, she started digging a little through the sand and immediately found the purple Chaos Emerald!  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
Pleased with her find, Scales put away the purple Emerald and called the hotel room, their temporary HQ. "Doc, I've got the first Emerald!" "Good job, Scales! I'll recalibrate the radar and see if I can pick up the next one. Do you want to come back and rest?" Robotnik said. Scales smirked. "Nah, I was thinking of sunbathing for a while." Robotnik didn't have a problem. "All right then. Big or I will call you if we find anything, okay?" "Likewise. See you later." Scales turned off her comm. She concentrated on the black Emerald. "Chaos Control!" She warped back to the beach she had landed on, all set to relax on this beautiful tropical coast. Unfortunately, that was not going to happen. Scales was astonished to see people running away from the beach in droves. "What's going on?" she tried to ask some passerby, with no result. After everyone was gone, the reason for their mass exodus was clear. Scales' eyes widened in surprise. Standing at the edge of the beach was a was Knuckles. At least, it looked like Knuckles, aside from being made of chrome that moved like skin. Scales blinked. Was this a robot duplicate? Or was it actually Knuckles, but roboticized? "Knuckles, is that you?" Scales asked, not expecting a response. The robot seemed to blink, almost. "My designation is Mecha Knuckles. My sensors indicate you have two Chaos Emeralds in your possession. Hand them over." Scales frowned. "No way!" Mecha Knuckles seemed to scowl. "In that case, I'll have to take them by force." The robot ran towards Scales, initiating a fight.  
  
Mecha Knuckles  
  
The mechanical version of Knuckles dashed towards Scales, spiked fist forward. She jumped over the robot and hit him from behind with her tail. He shook, then dug into the ground. Scales stopped moving, not sure what to do. Mecha Knuckles suddenly erupted from the ground, delivering a spiked blow to her chin. Scales staggered back, allowing Mecha Knuckles to get in a 3-hit combo. As she lashed out with a kick, he was already backing away, avoiding the blow. He ran forward for another punch. Scales jumped up and hit the robot with a Homing Kick. Mecha Knuckles wobbled and staggered back. Shaking his head, the robot curled up a fist and pointed it at the lizard. The spikes on his knuckles launched like missiles, rocketing towards Scales. She ducked, the spikes soaring over her and imbedding themselves in an umbrella. Scales got up and smirked. Right until the spikes ripped out of the umbrella, turned around, and imbedded themselves in one of her life support cables. She gasped as green liquid started oozing from the cable. Mecha Knuckles fired his other two spikes at Scales. Trying to work properly despite the cut in the cable, Scales shot out a claw and grabbed the spikes in midair, catching them between her fingers. As Mecha Knuckles' eyes widened, Scales threw the spikes back at lightning speed, imbedding them in the robot's body. Mecha Knuckles wheezed and fell to the ground. Scales panted and pulled the other spikes out of the cable, dropping them on the ground. Her repair bugs quickly sealed up the holes in the cable, restoring her systems to optimal efficiency. She walked over to Mecha Knuckles and kicked him lightly. She was surprised when he fell apart, revealing."Knuckles!" Scales exclaimed. Indeed, Knuckles was lying in the broken pieces of Mecha Knuckles. Apparently he had been roboticized, after all. She shook him, trying to wake her friend. "Knuckles! Knuckles? Knuckles wake up!" The red echidna didn't move. She frowned. "This is isn't good. I'd better take him back to Angel Island." She slung the echidna over her shoulder. As an afterthought, she picked up a few pieces of the strange metal Knuckles had been encased in. With both secured, she warped away from the beach, leaving it peaceful and tranquil as it had been before.  
  
Well, that was short.interesting, though, right? Anyway, I'm sorry this is so short, and I fear the next one will be short as well, but I do have good news. Earlier, I promised you a surprise. From now on, whenever I remember, I'll have an interview with Scales at the end of every chapter! Since our featured guest has just walked in, let's begin! Scales: Hi everyone. Me: So Scales, what do you think of your first solo adventure so far? Scales: I'd like it better if I had tougher levels. I mean, Radical Highway was a million times tougher than this one! Me: Sorry, but the levels for Sonic Adventure fit in more with the storyline. Scales: But I want a challenge! I mean, Mecha Knuckles was a cinch to beat, even with those spikes sticking out of my life support! Me: Don't worry, you'll get harder bosses. And if you thought the Final Destroyer was difficult, wait 'till you get a load of the final boss in THIS story. Muhahahahaha! Scales: It had better be! Hey, am I going to have a sequel? Me: Actually, yes. Scales: Will it have harder levels than this one? Me: Some of them are so hard they'll make Final Chase look like Green Hill. Scales: Really? Me: Well, maybe not that difficult, but they're gonna be much harder than any level here! Scales: Cool! Can't wait to be in it. Will I like it? Me: (Grinning evilly) Oh, you'll LOVE it. Muhahahahaha.Fu fu fu fu! Scales: (Slaps me on the head.) Knock it off! Me: Sorry. Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter and another interview with our favorite cybernetic lizard! Scales: Review, or I'll do to you what I did to the GUN agents that locked me away. 


	4. A Windswept Valley

Hi everyone! I hope you all liked my first Scales interview. However, I feel I need to lay some things down before we start this chapter. First of all, Snively is dead. He is not coming back in any way, shape, or form. Second of all, the Demonic Four are not actually demons, they're just named after some. Thirdly, what's happening with Knuckles will be revealed in this chapter. Finally, Sonic will never appear in this universe. Also, Scales will be handling the entire adventure on her own, without help from anyone but Tikal or the doctors. And maybe Chaos. I'm sorry if I've spoiled anything, but I felt I had to say this. Thank you. Oh, and anyone born with the power can go super with either set of Emeralds. In what would be Shadow Adventure, Snively was after the Chaos Emeralds, not the Supers. Disclaimer: Why do I have to keep writing these?  
  
Day 1, 12:00 PM  
  
Big frowned at Knuckles' unconscious form. After getting back to the hotel room, Scales had shown the doctors what she had found. While Robotnik kept a lookout for Chaos Emeralds, big had rigged up a makeshift scanner to analyze the metal Knuckles had been encased in and the echidna himself. "This isn't good." Big muttered. "Can you find out what's wrong, doctor?" asked Scales. Big turned away from Knuckles. "You say that when he was encased in the metal, it actually moved like real skin? It expanded and contracted when he breathed, as if it were his own flesh?" Scales nodded. Big looked at the piece of chrome metal he held, then went on. "This metal is quite peculiar. It's almost like it isn't metal at all. It is now completely rigid, but extended scans have shown it is actually composed of billions of microscopic joints. Apparently whoever is behind all this had modified the normal roboticizer to not only make a victim a robot, but a living, breathing piece of metal." "Weird." Murmured Scales. "I think this new form of roboticization is actually capable of affecting even Shadow's DNA. It's possible you may have to fight him at some point." He grimaced. "That's not all. I have discovered the reason Knuckles is unconscious, and it isn't good." "What is it?" Big sighed. "I have detected numerous nanites in his blood stream, limiting the amount of oxygen and blood flowing to his brain. I see no way to clear them out at the moment. In fact, any attempt to remove them through any means I have so far come up with would probably kill Knuckles, since they're so close in contact with his vital cells that forcible removal could permanently damage his body." "Then how can we fix him? It seems likely that if he's affected, so have the others!" Scales said. Big nodded in agreement. "I know, I know. It galls me that my little girl and son-in-law are probably affected as well. This new villain obviously did this to keep us from learning anything from his victims if we actually freed them. I'll keep working on a way to save Knuckles, but I can't guarantee anything." Robotnik walked in from his room. "Scales, I've found the next Emerald!" "Great, where is it?" she asked, ready to move out. "It's in a place called Windy Valley. To get there, you'll need to take a train to the nearby jungle and the Mystic Ruins. You can ask around from there to find the Valley." Robotnik informed her. "Thanks doc. See if you can do something about poor Knuckles, okay? Chaos Control!" In a flash of light, she vanished.  
  
She warped to the beach and went into the city after some minor mishaps like being mugged (which resulted in the thief having his clothes ripped to shreds and then left to hang naked from a flagpole in a public place). Scales got to the train station, purchased a ticket, (Of COURSE she has money) and took a nice, relaxing ride to the nearby jungle. She exited the train station and smiled at the beauty of the place. It was a lush, tropical place with a few mountains nearby, high stone cliffs, and a few ancient Echidna ruins. After asking a few archeologists where to go (and signing a few autographs, considering she was a hero and all) Scales learned the entrance to Windy Valley was near the small landing strip for supply planes. After finding and walking by the runway, she saw an opening in the great cliffs ahead, an altar with a strange green stone on it. Scales ran over to the opening, but froze dead in her tracks when her Emerald flickered, sensing something. Something evil. Scales turned around and saw a black figure flying towards her. It dropped to the ground as it got close, standing proudly. Scales bristled. "You're one of those jerks who broke in to my brother's wedding!" The monster snickered. "How apt. I am Mephistopheles, first of the Demonic Four. My master has sent me to collect the Chaos Emeralds from you." "And who is your master, anyway?" Scales asked. Mephistopheles shook his head. "I shan't tell you that. Now, be a good girl and give me your Emeralds." Scales snorted. "As if." Mephistopheles shrugged. "In that case, prepare to meet your maker!" "How? Maria's dead." Scales said, joking a little. Mephistopheles was confused. "Huh? Oh, whatever! Just prepare to die, will you?" "Bring it, Bat-boy!" Scales yelled, shifting to battle mode.  
  
Mephistopheles  
  
The monster took to the air and started flying around. Scales watched him, trying to work out a plan of attack. She was a little surprised when Tikal's ball of light appeared. "Scales! I have a hint that might help you beat this guy!" Scales, eager for any help, said, "Well? What is it?" "The cliffs are unstable." With that, she quickly flew away. Scales blinked. "The cliffs are unstable? How the hell does that-" she was cut off as Mephistopheles shot down in a drill drive, knocking her to the ground. "Ow." Mephistopheles cackled and jumped off, grabbing Scales with one of his long arms as she got up. Before she could move, the monster threw her straight at a cliff. She smashed into it, leaving an indent. As she grunted and pulled herself out, she noticed several cracks leading away from where she had hit. Mephistopheles took to the air again, flying over her. Scales watched him carefully and saw him stop right over her. She jumped out of the way as he came down in his drill drive. Before he could fly up again, Scales whacked him with her spiked tail. He winced and lashed out with one of his long arms. Scales grabbed the monster by his wrist and swung him around, throwing him straight into the cliff, sending him crashing into the indentation she had made before. The cracks deepened and got thicker. Scales was starting to understand Tikal's hint. She tensed up as Mephistopheles flew out of the indentation, looking really angry. He swooped down at her, claws outward. Scales timed his descent in her head and jumped at exactly the right moment, launching into a Homing Kick straight at the monster's head and knocking him from the air. Mephistopheles rolled around a few times on the ground, his wings wrapped around him. He groaned and staggered to his feet, unfurling his wings once more. He growled at Scales. "Enough of this! Let's see how you like being shredded by sound waves!" He spread his wings wide and pointed his hands at Scales. "Screaming Evil!" Scales jumped away as the sonic attack rippled past, shattering several trees behind her. Mephistopheles turned after her, preparing to fire again. "Screaming Evil!" Scales jumped behind the Wind Altar, barely avoiding another sonic attack. As the monster took to the air to get a better vantagepoint, Scales jumped out from behind the altar and cupped her hands, pointing upward. "Serpent Strike!" The great green snake head shot forth, exploding on contact with Mephistopheles. He screeched and fell from the sky, landing hard. Before he could get up, Scales ran over, grabbed his right arm, and threw him straight at the cliff again. As he made impact in the same indentation as before, Scales saw the cracks running pretty far up the cliff. Scales knew exactly what to do. She aimed above Mephistopheles. "Serpent Strike!" The snake shot forth, exploding on the face of the cliff. Mephistopheles sneered and pulled himself from the indentation. "Ha! Missed me!" "I wasn't aiming for you." Said Scales. "Then what-" Suddenly, the area Scales had shot rumbled, cracked, and collapsed, an entire shelf of rock falling downwards, crushing Mephistopheles underneath it. Scales grinned. "I was aiming for that unstable crest of rock. Thanks for the hint, Tikal." The pile of rubble shook and exploded outward. Mephistopheles crouched in the space cleared, panting and cradling his left arm, which seemed to be broken. His wings seemed tattered, but otherwise all right. Mephistopheles trembled and managed to get to his feet. "I don't believe this." He wheezed. "Beaten twice, and by a girl on either occasion!" He snarled at Scales. "Don't think you're so good, you were just lucky. Next time we meet, you won't walk away." Despite some visible effort, the monster managed to take to the air and flew off, wobbling now and then and looking like he could crash at any moment. Scales frowned. "How disappointing. I was hoping to beat some information out of him. Oh well, time to get the next Chaos Emerald." With that, she walked through the passage in the cliffs, entering the valley.  
  
Stage 2: Windy Valley. Mission: Find the Chaos Emerald.  
  
Scales walked through the passage and came out on a large platform, the beginning of a path across a beautiful lake. There were several large fans attached to the cliffs, and some more on top of several small floating islands. After admiring the scenery for a second, she walked across the platform and was suddenly attacked by a robot chameleon. It lashed its tongue out at her, stinging her flesh. She swiped at it, only to see it vanish. She thought it was gone, until the chameleon's tongue stung her from behind. As she tried to retaliate, it vanished again. Suddenly getting an idea, Scales switched her vision to Scan mode. She saw a heat signature in the form of the chameleon right in front of her. She swung her tail right as it appeared, destroying the robot. Leaving the remains of the Leon behind, Scales started up the trail ahead, a ledge on a cliff wall. She discovered she had to keep her footing, because the wind was very strong. She followed the ledge along the side of the cliff and found her way blocked by a wall of cracked stone. Rather than jumping over the wall, Scales opted to smash it down once the wind had died down a bit. The barrier out of her way, Scales walked forward and was almost burned by a huge flaming robot caterpillar. Avoiding a jet of fire, Scales launched into a series of Homing Kicks, killing the caterpillar section by section. When it was no more, she continued down the ledge and found a broken bridge with a row of robots with spinning blades attached to their sides hovering above the gap. After the wind died down again, Scales launched into multiple Homing Kicks, smashing the heads of the robots and avoiding their blades. She landed on the other side of the broken bridge and walked around a natural pillar, following the ledge around and onto a wider path. She went down the path and was assaulted by another Leon. She used her scanner to find it when it used camouflage, allowing her to quickly kill the robot. She continued and came to the end of the path. She saw a series of pillars rising from the lake, springs on the sides of each one. She saw a spring at her feet and knew what to do. She bounced off the spring and ricocheted off every spring, eventually landing on a platform. She went to the end of the platform and used a pair of Homing Kicks to dispose of two Bladed Spinners and get to a grassy floating platform. She dropped from the platform to another one and saw a ruined bridge ahead. There were no robots, but the distance looked short enough to jump. After leaping over the bridge, Scales saw a stone bridge leading to the cliff face at the end of the lake. She ran across the bridge and stopped as suddenly, a giant tornado appeared! Before she could run or warp away, the cyclone swept her up into the air. She was flung upward, higher and higher, until she landed on a large platform in the midst of the tornado. Scales was understandably dizzy and confused. Tikal appeared, getting Scales' attention. "Hi Scales! You have to head straight up. You should be able to get out of the tornado. See, there's a spring right over there you can use." Tikal said, indicating a spring pointing up. "Thanks. By the way, why was that clue you gave me in the last fight so cryptic?" Scales asked. "What was I supposed to tell you? As the destined one, you must prove your worth by doing this quest by yourself. Hints are allowed, but anything more could be considered cheating. Besides, do you really want it to be that easy?" Scales thought a moment. "Yeah, you have a point. Never mind then. See you later." Tikal flew away, and Scales bounced off the spring. She shot upward and landed on a platform with a jump pad. She jumped off the pad and landed on a floating one. She immediately jumped off of that one and kept going, jumping off of lots of pads before finally landing on another platform. She bounced from a spring and started ricocheting around the tornado, bouncing off of springs attached to small platforms. Finally, she landed on a platform with a big jump pad. She jumped on it and was shot all the way out of the tornado, landing on a ridge. The whirlwind dissipated, leaving Scales alone. She looked down and wished she hadn't. The tornado had been bigger than she thought, she was so high up she could swear the clouds were floating past her. She gulped and brought herself together, knowing she had to finish this. She looked around and saw a narrow path leading to a larger platform. She walked carefully across the bridge and onto the platform. She saw a Leon and quickly killed it. She saw the beginning of a path at the back of the platform. She started down the steep, sloping path, going straight, then curving to the right and immediately left as the path went down in a circle. It straightened out and headed straight for a long while. Keeping her footing and watching out for the wind, Scales abruptly halted when the path turned to the left sharply and ended. She walked onto the platform at the end of the path and saw a trio of Bladed Spinners floating in a gap leading to another platform. She Homing Kicked across the robots and to the platform. She crossed a short bridge and came to a stop on another platform with a rocket. She grabbed the rocket and was launched across the sky, dropping to a small grassy platform. Never mind how grass could grow so high up, she was on a mission. She saw a long, long path leading away and downwards. Scales started her run, enjoying the thrill of running despite the possible danger of falling off. Not that it would be that bad, she could simply warp back with Chaos Control, but she hated to skip a challenge. She hit some dash panels and sped up considerably, falling down a short drop and turning to the left as the path curved, passing through a loop and stopping at a small platform. As she tried to figure out a way to proceed, a gust of extremely strong wind picked up and swept her off her feet, sending her flying through the air and landing on a protruding ledge at the base of a circular stone platform. Scales walked forward and saw a bridge leading up the side of the platform. She walked up the spiraling walkway, killing a couple of Leons and coming to the top. She saw there was a giant hole in the middle of the platform and nothing else. With no other visible options, Scales jumped into the hole. She was spun around and buffeted through the air by the strong wind, moving her across the sky and roughly dropping her on a small platform. Getting up, Scales saw a very long and winding path ahead of her. She started carefully walking down the path, following it as it twisted to the right and then left, going down and veering to the right, going into a spiral and then becoming fairly straight, though there were a few curves. Scales started running, careful not to overshoot the curves in the path. After a minute of two of running, the path severely changed, winding around a floating horizontal pillar. Using her intense speed to stay on the path as it tried to throw her off with its sudden change of orientation, Scales ran around the pillar and stayed on the path as it straightened out again. She went through two corkscrews and finally veered left and down, stopping in a large platform with a dirt path leading to a spring. She bounced off the spring and landed on a small floating island, her Chaos senses starting to go off. On this island was the light blue Chaos Emerald! Scales grabbed it, ending the level.  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
Scales put the Emerald away and called the hotel. "Doc, I've got the light blue Emerald." "Excellent! That's three Emeralds for our side total!" said Robotnik, pleased. "Do you have the location of the next Chaos Emerald pinpointed yet?" Scales asked. "Sorry, but no. Why don't you come back to the hotel and take a rest?" Robotnik suggested. "Yeah, I guess I could use a little nap or something. See you in a second. Chaos Control!" Scales warped away from the valley, leaving the windswept place behind.  
  
That's two Chaos Emeralds down! Where will the next one be? Well, you should know if you've played Sonic Adventure. Anyway, here's another interview with our star! Scales: I'm here. Me: Scales, what did you think of Windy Valley? Scales: I liked it better than the last level, more of a challenge you know? I also liked the boss fight. Mephistopheles was a much better opponent than Mecha Knuckles. Me: Thank you. Scales: Who is their master, by the way? Me: Sorry, can't tell you. All I can say is that it's not Snively. Scales: (Rolls eyes.) Well, of course it's not Snively! Chaos pretty much said it was someone else. Who is it then? Me: I told you, I can't tell you. Scales: (sighs) Fine. Can you at least tell me what exactly these Demonic Four guys are? Me: Nope. Scales: Figures. Me: Cheer up, you'll be fighting another one soon enough. And while I admit the next level might not be quite as hard as this one, it should prove interesting. Scales: It had better be, or else! Me: Don't worry, it'll be fine. See you next time, loyal readers! Scales: And you'd better leave a review, he doesn't get too well when he thinks everyone is ignoring him. Bye! 


	5. Not quite a Casino Paradise

Another chapter already? Well, I'm certainly good at this. Here's the next level! Disclaimer: Why bother?  
  
Day 1, 5:00 PM  
  
Scales walked out of the bathroom, fully dried off. She had just showered to rinse off the chlorine from her long swim in the hotel pool. Big was still at work on the scanner, grumbling and pushing buttons now and then. "Dr. Rose, have you found anything helpful yet?" Big looked up from the scanner and shook his head. "Sort of. I tried to get a closer look at the nanites to see if I could see a logo or something on it. I found what looked like Snively's usual emblem, but it was crossed out." Scales sighed. "Well, all that tells us is what we already know, it's not Snively's work. But it must be someone who is able to control his machines and stuff. If only we had a better idea of what we're looking for!" Robotnik came in, ending the conversation. "Scales, it took a while but I've found the next Emerald." "Where is it?" Scales asked, ready for action. "It is located inside Station Square's biggest casino, Casinopolis. They are probably holding it as a prize or something, like they did the last time it was there." Robotnik informed her. "So how do I get the Emerald? Steal it?" Scales asked. Robotnik shook his head. "No, no! You're not Rouge! You'll have to win it." "Win it? But I heard the machines in Casinopolis were rigged to give out cash one time in a thousand!" Big said. Robotnik blinked. "Really? Well I know Shadow got it last time. He didn't say how, though. Oh well, Scales, you can handle this can't you?" Scales shrugged. "I'll try my best. And if the odds don't work in my favor, I'll just interface with the computers controlling the machines and make them give me all the money." "The machines aren't controlled by a computer, just lots of complicated gizmos." Said Big. "I'll just go then. See you guys later. Chaos Control!" She warped off of Angel Island.  
  
After reappearing in Station Square, Scales asked around for the location of Casinopolis. After having to fend off a couple of pimps and drunks, she found the place. It was a hotel as well, like in Vegas. The whole entrance was lined with big flashing lights and neon letters. Walking past the money-greedy valets outside the casino, Scales entered.  
  
Stage 3: Casinopolis. Mission: Find the Chaos Emerald.  
  
Scales had to squint for a moment when she entered. The casino was a huge circular room, full of slot machines, roulette tables, card tables, poker tables, pinball machines, and lots and lots of not-too-clever gamblers wasting all their money. Some elevators in the back went up to several levels of the room, each with more slot machines and soundproof hotel rooms. In the center of the room was a giant statue of a roaring lion. Between the lion's paws was a glass case holding the dark blue Emerald. Surprised that it was so easy to find, Scales walked over to the case and reached for the catch that would open the case. "And just what do you think you're doing?" growled a voice behind her. Scales turned around and saw a gorilla in a security guard outfit. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to get the Emerald." The guard snorted. "How many rings do you have?" Scales looked at the guard, confused. "Rings?" "Oh, this is your first time here? Let me explain. In this casino, the machines don't give you cash outright. Instead, you get a number of small gold rings for each win. The gold rings can be cashed in at the main desk for money, or it can be exchanged for prizes. This rock here is the most expensive prize in the casino, and as such is displayed here, where all can admire it." The guard told Scales. "Well, how many rings would I need to get this Emerald?" she asked. "400. So if you're planning on getting the Emerald, I suggest you start gambling." He said softly. "Of course, you have no chance in Hell of actually gaining enough rings to get the jewel!" he said quite clearly. Scales gasped. The guard blinked and cursed. "D'oh! I said the loud part quiet and the quiet part loud. Er, run along please!" Scales growled at the guard, but walked away. She was about to reluctantly head over to one of the slot machines and try to gamble when Tikal flew up to her. "Scales, stay away from the machines!" Scales smiled at the sight of her friend. "Tikal! You wouldn't happen to know how I can get 400 rings, would you?" Tikal bobbed, like a nod. "Yes, but you will never earn enough on the machines. They're rigged to pay out only one in ten thousand tries!" Scales blinked. "Whoa. Now that's harsh. So how can I get the required amount of rings?" Tikal started flying off. "Follow me!" Scales shrugged and followed Tikal to a door hidden by a paint job to make it match the wallpaper. Scales opened the door and stepped inside, finding a small elevator waiting for her. "This elevator goes down to the casino garbage dump. There are lots of rings down there!" Scales frowned. "Why would so many rings be in the garbage dump?" Tikal bobbed again, as if she was shrugging. "I dunno. Go on, you have to get the Chaos Emerald!" "I'm going, I'm going." As Tikal vanished, Scales stepped in the elevator and went down. As it went down, she screamed and clutched her head, suddenly feeling excruciating agony. Was it from an invisible enemy? Poison? No, it was the horrible elevator music! Blocking her eardrums, Scales smashed the elevator's speaker to pieces with a few kicks, restoring the silence. She relaxed and waited for the thing to stop moving. A minute or two later, the doors opened up, revealing the complex maze that was the garbage dump. She walked forward, going up a long, gentle slope and stopped, seeing a row of spikes in her way. Wondering what they were doing here, she jumped over the spikes and was attacked by six Bladed Spinners. Scales quickly eliminated them with a few Homing Kicks and noticed several glittering things on the ground ahead. She walked over to the first thing and picked it up. It was a small gold ring! She put it away and picked up the next one, putting that away as well. She continued, picking up every ring she saw. By the time she got to the top of the slope, she had found a total of twenty rings. She jumped over a pair of spiked balls and went through the exit. She dropped into a giant fan shaft. The fan at the bottom blew her upwards, sending her through a total of sixty rings before reaching the top of the shaft. She saw a tunnel on the left, and used her Jet Anklets to move across the upward current to get to the tunnel. She went inside and walked down the corridor, killing a Bladed Spinner that tried to slice her up. She found ten rings on the ground and turned right, following the passage. The corridor soon turned right and sloped down. Scales followed, picking up ten more rings as the passage corkscrewed and went ahead. She kept going, killing lots of Bladed Spinners and Rhino Tanks, until she came to a turn in the corridor and went right. By this point she had collected twenty more rings. As she kept going straight ahead, she grabbed twenty more and turned right, coming to another shaft. She jumped out and let the fan carry her up. She grabbed sixty rings as she went up, using her Jet Anklets to fly into a tunnel straight ahead. She killed a Unidus that rushed at her, and turned right, grabbing ten rings before turning right again. She killed a group of Rhino Tanks and found twenty more rings, then turned right after a little bit and found ten more. She continued down the corridor for a while, before stopping in front of a doorway blocked by laser beams. A pair of Golas charged her. Scales killed the Golas, lowering the laser field and letting her pass. She went forward and turned right, mowing down a dozen Rhino Tanks before finding another shaft. She jumped into it and was flung upwards, grabbing sixty rings before reaching the top. She maneuvered over to a tunnel on her left and entered it. She went forward and grabbed ten rings, then found an additional ten as the tunnel went left. It turned right up ahead, leading to a stretch of passage with a dozen Unidus. She killed the spiky robots carefully and found ten more rings. She turned right at the end and found twenty rings, then turned right again, going down a long corridor and grabbing ten rings before being attacked by a Bladed Spinner. She smashed the Spinner and turned left, eventually getting to the beginning of a long rectangular room. She turned left, going down the room. She went by several partial walls in the room, grabbing thirty rings and destroying a horde of Rhino Tanks that ambushed her before finally reaching a long, narrow shaft with a ladder. She could faintly see light at the top of the shaft. She got on the ladder and started climbing up. After a long climb, she came to the top. She could hear the noises of the casino through an opening ahead. Scales crawled through the opening and discovered she was in the mouth of a lion statue! So as not to cause any alarm, Scales used the time-freeze variation of Chaos Control to drop from the lion's mouth and move to a suitable position before her time was up. When everything restarted again, Scales walked over to the gorilla guard and the Emerald. "I'm back!" she said. The guard grunted. "Yeah, so?" Scales took out all the rings she had found in the garbage dump and dropped them at his feet. "I have four hundred rings. Can I please have that Emerald now?" The guard's jaw dropped. "Wha-buh-guh-nuh-how! How did you get these?!" "I won them. Now give me the Emerald! It's my prize, I've earned it." Scales demanded. Sadly, the guard put away the four hundred rings in his own dimension pocket and opened the case. "Thank you." Said Scales. She reached into the case and grabbed the Emerald.  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
Just as Scales was about to contact Robotnik, the lion statue started to shake. The guard looked up and shouted, "It's gonna blow! Everyone, get out of the way!" Everyone close to the statue immediately ran and hid behind anything they could find, including potted plants. The statue shattered, raining chunks of metal all over the place, some of which hit gamblers too obsessed to notice what was going on and weren't hiding. The shaft leading to the garbage dump was revealed, but there was now a new, bigger hole in the center of the room. Standing near this hole was a horrendous insectoid monster, one of the party-crashers from the wedding. The bug chittered a little and said. "I am Lucifer, second of the Demonic Four. Where is the Chaos Emerald?" Scales stepped forward. "I have it, and a few others!" Lucifer seemed to grin. "Great! Just give them to me and I'll be on my way." Scales shook her head. "You can have them if you pry them from my cold dead fingers." Lucifer shrugged. "That can be arranged." He started forward. Scales turned to look at the guard. "Get all these people off the casino floor. This is going to be a bit of a fight." Too shocked to do anything else, the gorilla nodded and headed to round up the civilians. Scales switched to battle mode and ran at the bug.  
  
Lucifer  
  
Lucifer came towards Scales, swinging his massive claws. She jumped over the monster's charge and hit him behind with her tail. Lucifer turned around and swiped at her, slashing into her skin. She winced and backflipped away as Lucifer tried to get in another hit. He attempted a 3- hit combo, but Scales was too fast for him to lay a blow on. She jumped in the air and tried to hit him with a Homing Kick, but Lucifer blocked her with his big claws. He punched her when she dropped from his claws and then managed to pull off a 3-hit combo, sending Scales through several rows of slot machines and slamming into the wall. She moaned and got up, shaking the cobwebs from her head. "Okay, NOW I'm mad." She growled. Lucifer burrowed into the ground and started for Scales. Unable to see where he was, Scales jumped on top of a slot machine she hadn't knocked over and waited for Lucifer to appear. He popped up where she had been standing near the wall. When he turned around to see where she had gone, Scales shot forward with a Homing Kick, hitting him in the face. Lucifer grunted and tried to slash her, but she was already out of range. The monster turned around and started climbing up the wall. Once he was almost high enough to climb over the balcony of the first floor of hotel rooms, near the frightened guests and gamblers who had been ushered away from the main floor, Lucifer let go with one hand and hung from the balcony, looking down at Scales. "You can't get me up here, lizard! Let's see if you can avoid this attack so easily. Inferno Blast!" A mammoth fireball appeared at the very top of the casino chamber, dropping down towards the center of the room. Scales ducked behind a slot machine as the ball struck the center of the room, exploding and burning a good portion of it. "Dammit, you weren't supposed to hide from the attack!" Lucifer yelled angrily. "That's kind of the point of evasion, isn't it?" Scales called up at the monster. "Well, yeah, but." He scowled. "Okay, enough of this! I'm getting your Emeralds, end of story!" Lucifer let go of the wall, surprising everyone. As he fell, he spread his arms and suddenly, insect wings sprouted from his back, fluttering and giving him flight. He started buzzing around the room like a fly, laughing and throwing fireballs at Scales. "You can't dodge me for long, lizard! I'll taste your flesh soon enough!" Scales responded by picking up a potted plant and throwing it at the flying monster. Lucifer easily dodge it, laughing. Scales frowned and grabbed a slot machine, throwing it at the bug. Once more, Lucifer flew out of the way. "Just give up, it'll be easier for the both of us!" That's when Scale picked up an entire roulette table and threw it at the insect. Lucifer's eyes widened. He tried to get out of the way in time, but the table smashed into him, knocking him from the sky. He lay there, groaning under the broken table. Scales walked over to Lucifer and grabbed him by the horns, pulling him out from under the table. She spun around and threw him at a wall. Unexpectedly, he flipped in midair and grabbed the wall instead of hitting it. He grinned at Scales, thinking he was winning. That's when Scales fired a Serpent Strike at him. The snake exploded, knocking Lucifer off the wall. He landed with a thump and struggled to get up, only to find he was too weak. He lifted his head in time to see Scales over him, holding another roulette table. She brought it smashing down on him, seeming to knock the insect out. She smirked. "That'll learn ya." A second later, the roulette table was broken in half as Lucifer recovered and smashed through the piece of furniture. Gasping for air, he managed to say, "You little bitch! If it weren't for the fact that you've crushed several of my internal organs, I'd rip your head off! I think I'll just run along to lick my wounds, but next time you won't be so lucky!" With that, the insectoid burrowed into the ground and disappeared. Scales looked up to see all the people who had watched her applauding and cheering. A smile came to her face. She couldn't resist taking a bow, which made the cheering even louder. She finally stopped and waved her hands. "Thank you, thank you all for your homage! But before the casino owner shows up and tries to stick me with the bill for all this destruction, I will perform one last trick for your amusement. Chaos Control!" She warped away in a flash of light, astounding the gamblers and tourists to no end.  
  
Wow, another chapter done already? Man I'm fast. Oh well, here's another interview! Scales: Yo. Me: What did you think of this level? Scales: Aside from the boss fight, all too easy. Will the next one be better? Me: I give you my word the next one will be more interesting and you get not one, but two boss battles in a row as well as some minor plot advancement! Scales: Yay! Me: I'm so sorry to cut this interview short, but it's time for bed soon. And no bed and no sleep make pi2 go something something. Scales: Go crazy? Me: Don't mind if I do! Bykfiiljfilkglhiioioiomwpimfrriu! Scales: (Hits me over the head hard.) Stop that! Me: Whoops, sorry. See you next time!  
  
Scales: You'd better review, or I'll make sure you get the same roulette treatment I gave to Lucifer! 


	6. Of Fisherfoxes And snowy Mountains

Sorry for last chapter's short interview. We'll have a better one this time. Also, Scales has more action and finds two Emeralds in one chapter! Isn't that radical? Sorry, I'm a little weird right now. Also, all you Tails lovers will finally get to see your favorite fox in a cameo as fisherman! Don't worry, he's not as dumb as Big. But I hope you're not disappointed since he's going to be a little out of character. Please don't complain if you don't like how he turns out. Disclaimer: No way.  
  
Day 1, 6:30 PM  
  
Scales walked around the Mystic Ruins area. After taking a quick rest, Robotnik told her that he had picked up on radar not one, but two Emeralds, both of which were in the jungle. He had told her that one was near a lake, the other was on a mountain called Icecap. At the moment, Scales thought she should try the lake. Following the directions the archaeologists had given her, Scales came out of some trees and found a breathtaking lake, small but lovely nonetheless. A waterfall spilled from a nearby mountain, filling the lake. Scales looked around and saw a small pier nearby and a cottage a little further away. Sitting on the pier was a 12-year old orange fox with two tails. He appeared to be fishing. Sitting next to him was a small toad. Scales walked around the shore of the lake and onto the pier. "Um, excuse me." She said, getting the boy's attention. The fox looked up. "Oh, hello. What are you doing here?" "My name's Scales the Lizard. I heard there was a large gemstone somewhere around this lake. Would you happen to know where it is?" Scales asked. The fox thought a moment. "Would this gemstone happen to be large, cut like a diamond, and yellow in color?" Scales started getting excited. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm looking for! Have you seen it?" The fox nodded. "Yeah, it's in my house. Come on, I'll show it to you." He stood up and handed the fishing pole to the toad. "Toady, hang on to the pole and let me know if anything catches before I get back, okay?" The toad croaked and got a tight grip on the fishing pole with its tongue. "Good boy. Come on miss, I'll show you the jewel." He led her across the way to the cottage. "By the way, what's your name?" asked Scales. "Tails. Tails Prower." The fox replied. Scales blinked. "Not THE Tails Prower who caught a blue whale by accident just last year?" Tails' chest swelled up with pride. "Yep, that's me." "Wow." Scales said, impressed. Tails stopped at the door to the cottage. "Here we are. Be quiet though, my girlfriend Cassandra is still asleep." Scales smiled. "How sweet, you already have a girlfriend?" Tails paused. "We've been together a long time, ever since our parents died and we had a little bit of an.incident with an orphanage. Neither of us wanted to be separated from the other by adoptive parents, so we ran away. We've set up a home here, and I make my living as a fisherman. I've kept the child care people off my back by legally registering my foster parent as Toady and changing my name to Tails." He paused, then slapped his forehead. "Shouldn't have told you that, should not have told you that." He groaned. "Don't worry, I promise I won't tell anyone. I think it's cute how you and this Cassandra didn't want to leave each other." Said Scales reassuringly. Tails seemed a little unsure, but shrugged it off. "Okay, let's go in shall we?" Tails opened the door, letting Scales go in. The cottage was small and quaint, with some of the modern conveniences. Sleeping on a bunk bed in an adjacent room was an adorable twelve-year old yellow fox. She had three tails, each with black tips. Her ears had black tips as well. "That's Cassandra. We'd best be quiet, so as not to wake her." Tails whispered. He quietly walked to another room full of fishing trophies and a single large yellow jewel, the Chaos Emerald. "This is the jewel you wanted, right?" Tails whispered. Scales nodded. "Yes. How much will you take for it?" Tails shook his head. "No money, just promise never to tell anybody about the whole child care fraud and everything." He whispered back to her. Scales shrugged. "I wouldn't have told anyway, but I promise." She picked up the yellow Emerald and put it away. "Thanks for letting me have this. By the way, would you happen to know where I can find Icecap?" "Oh sure, it's that mountain just outside. Is there anything else you need to know?" the fox asked. Scales shook her head. "No thank you, but I appreciate the offer. I wish the two of you best of luck, okay?" The little fox cracked a grin and led her outside. As he headed back to the pier to relieve Toady of fishing duty, Scales started heading for the icy mountain. After walking up a trail by the stream at the top of the waterfall for a little while, Scales came to an opening in a stone cliff, the base of the mountain. She went through the opening and found an altar with a blue stone on it. Next to the altar was a tunnel. Scales went down the tunnel, actively aware that with every passing second it grew colder. Scales knew that reptiles didn't function well in the cold, so was glad that her internal mechanics kept her nice and warm. She came to the end of the tunnel, with a ladder leading up. Scales climbed up the ladder, coming to the entrance of an icy passage. She went to battle mode and headed inside.  
  
Stage 4: Icecap. Mission: Find the Chaos Emerald.  
  
Scales went down the passage, finding it opened on a glacier. Right in front of her was a rocket pointing towards a cave opening on the other side. She grabbed the rocket and was shot across the glacier. She let go of the rocket, dropping into the cave. She was in a large cavern with lots of icy platforms, ledges and chasms. On the platform in front of Scales was a spring. Using her grooved feet pads to stay on the ice, Scales walked to the spring and bounced off, bouncing off a couple of other springs around the cavern before shooting for a large icicle. She grabbed onto the icicle, digging in with her claws. She peered around the ice stalagmite and saw a row of icicles ahead of her. Crawling around the icicle, she jumped to the next in the row, grabbing on to it and crawling around so she could jump to the next one. She jumped from icicle to icicle, finally reaching the end of the line. She dropped to a ledge beneath her and looked around. She saw a spring and bounced off it, grabbing another icicle. She jumped from icicle to icicle, working down the line until she reached the end. She dropped and landed on a ledge with a rocket pointing across an abyss. She grabbed the rocket and was shot across the cave. She let go of the rocket and dropped to a floating platform. She bounced off a spring at its end and grabbed the first of another set of icicles. She swung from icicle to icicle, dropping to a platform with a small cliff in front of it. She saw a couple of Bladed Spinners hovering over one another at the base of the cliff. Scales used Homing Kicks to smash the robots and get to the top of the cliff. She ran to the end and killed a Gola, then bounced from a spring to get over a chasm. She landed at the top of a ramp. She sped down the ramp, going through a couple of dash panels and launching from a dash plate at the end. She hurtled through the air, grabbing another icicle. She headed down the line of ice stalagmites, taking great care not to let go, and came to the end. She dropped from the end of the line of stalagmites and dropped to a platform with a Leon on it. She killed the metal chameleon and walked forward, seeing a narrow bridge made of ice spanning the next chasm. She stepped on the bridge and the whole thing started to shake. Moving fast, she ran across the bridge and jumped to the next platform just before the bridge collapsed and fell into the crevasse. She walked forward and found a dash panel. She ran over it and raced up a sloping path, going through a loop and stopping on another platform, this one with a switch. She hit the switch, and a bridge made of ice appeared, leading to the next platform. Warily, she took a step forward and found the bridge was more solid. Relieved, she walked across and was assaulted by a dozen Unidus. She quickly dispatched the robots and found a jump pad on her platform. She jumped off the pad, jumped off another one in the air, and landed at the entrance to a tunnel. She went through the tunnel and followed it as it curved inside the wall of the mountain, forcing her to smash several Rhino tanks before coming out in the main cave again. There was a spring at the end of the ledge she was on. She bounced off the spring and shot through the air, grabbing another icicle. She jumped across the long row of icicles, dropping to another ledge leading to a tunnel. She killed the Unidus guarding the entrance and went into the tunnel. She exited the tunnel and was outside the mountain, pretty high up. A cold wind whipped by her. Scales saw a jump pad in the middle of the large platform she was now standing on. She jumped off the pad and hurtled up into the air. She jumped off five more floating pads in succession before reaching the end, the top of a very, very steep hill. Scales was a little unsure what to do until Tikal showed up. "Hey Tikal, how do I get down the slope?" Scales asked the ball of light. Tikal flew over to a patch of snow. "There's a snowboard right here you can use to get down the mountain. Wait, do you know how to snowboard?" "No." Scales admitted. "Well, do you know how to skateboard?" Tikal asked. "No." "Surf?" "Sorry, but no." Scales said. Tikal thought about it for a moment, then got an idea. "I know! You can grind, right?" "Yeah, but there's no rail here." Scales pointed out. "That doesn't matter. Think of the snowboard as a moving rail! Just pretend it's a rail leading down the side of the mountain and you're grinding it past several obstacles and stuff to reach the bottom and get the Chaos Emerald." Tikal said. Scales brightened up. "Great idea! Thanks Tikal." "Your welcome. See you later!" Tikal flew off, leaving Scales alone. Scales went to the spot Tikal had indicated and dug into the snow. She pulled out a snowboard. "Wonder how this thing got up here." She muttered. Placing the board at the edge of the hill, she stepped on and fastened her feet in. She took a deep breath. "Okay, here we go!" With that, she pushed herself onto the slope and started boarding. After the first few initial seconds of terror, Scales remembered Tikal's advice and pretended the board was a rail. Relaxing, she started to have a little fun by swerving down the slope, coming close to the walls. She started laughing from the ecstasy of it all, until she heard a rumbling. She looked behind her and gave an unladylike curse. Hurtling down the slope towards her was a two-story tall snowball. She turned her head back to the slope, focusing on the trail ahead. She crouched down to pick up speed and kept going, trying to outrun the snowball. She went over several little moguls, almost wiping out, but she managed to stay upright. After several small hills and moguls, the snowball finally broke up when the slope narrowed, becoming too close together for the great snowy ball to pass through. Whooping, Scales went through the narrowed opening, ditching the snowball. She sobered when she saw what was up ahead of her. Coming up were several large fallen columns of ice. Moving instinctively, Scales swerved around the columns, each time narrowly avoiding a wipeout. After several very extreme close calls, she got past the ice columns. She didn't bother to congratulate herself as the slope passed through a cave with a fairly low ceiling. Giant icicles hung down from the ceiling, almost scraping the ground. Scales groaned and started evasive maneuvers again, swerving past the numerous icicles and coming close to wiping out. Eventually, the cave opened up and she was back on the mountainside again. Everything looked clear until she saw several big blocks of ice on the path. Taking evasive maneuvers one more time, Scales swerved around and around the blocks of ice, passing through very narrow gaps and nearly wiping out. She finally got through the blocks and it seemed the slope was all clear. That's when she saw the path ended in an abyss just ahead. She noticed a ramp at the edge of the abyss and aimed carefully for it. She shot onto the ramp and leapt off the end, hurtling through the air and landing on the slope, which continued on the other side of the chasm. She kept boarding, swerving past a few evergreen trees. There weren't as many trees as there had been other obstacles, so she didn't have to worry as much about crashing. After a little longer, Scales saw another gap and ramp up ahead. Crouching down just in case, she sped for the ramp. She went up and off the ramp, soaring through the air and landing on the other side of the chasm. She kept on going, passing a few more trees until she came to a stretch of open snow. Suddenly, several fighter planes bearing Snively's logo with an X over it swooped from the sky and started dropping bombs at her. Scales had to frantically evade the blasts, knowing a wipeout caused by a bomb would probably hurt a lot. It was close, but she managed to make it through the bombing run. The planes flew away. Wondering where they had come from, Scales launched off another ramp and couldn't resist trying a cool trick or two in midair. She went off of three more ramps and did the same thing, landing and finally, finally reaching the bottom of the long slope. She hopped off the snowboard and walked along the narrow, icy passage ahead of her, passing between the high cliffs. After going a little ways and killing some irritating Rhino Tanks, Scales came out to a vast frozen glacier. Her Chaos senses started picking up. Walking carefully across the beautiful frozen wasteland, Scales stopped at the point on the glacier where her Chaos senses were most active. She dug a little way into the snow and found the red Chaos Emerald!  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
Scales put away the Emerald. She was about to warp back to Angel Island when she heard a metallic clunk behind her. Scales turned around and saw Rouge! That is, Rouge encased in the same strange metal as Knuckles had that gave her a second skin. Whatever this weird new roboticization process was, it worked! Even Rouge's clothes looked metal. Rouge, or should I say Mecha Rouge, pointed a finger at Scales. "My sensors indicate you have no less than six Chaos Emeralds on your person. Hand them over!" "Why should I?" asked Scales. "Because all jewels belong to my master, of course! Now give them to me so I won't have to kick your heiny for them!" Mecha Rouge growled. Scales shook her head. "The Chaos Emeralds rightfully belong to me, not you! If your master wants them so badly, tell him he can come get them from me himself!" Mecha Rouge scowled. "No matter what you say, it still sounds crazy to refuse! Give me the Chaos Emeralds!" Scales snarled. "If you want them so bad, then come take them!" "Fine, I will!" Mecha Rouge yelled.  
  
Mecha Rouge  
  
The android vampire bat jumped up and started gliding towards Scales. Scales kept dodging Mecha Rouge, knowing that she would soon have to land considering there were no nearby walls to climb on to gain a greater altitude and because she couldn't actually fly. Mecha Rouge dropped to the ground and ran towards Scales. Scales lashed out with her tail, but Mecha Rouge fell down and kicked out, knocking Scales over. The robot got up and jumped over Scales, coming down in a drill drive on the lizard's unprotected life support dome. Scales wailed and rolled over, knocking the bat off. She got up and got ready for another attack. Mecha Rouge lashed out with a foot, trying to kick her. Scales grabbed the robot by the leg and threw her over her shoulder, smashing her to the ground. Mecha Rouge got back up, looking angry. "Okay, enough of this! Black Wave!" The wave struck Scales, sending her flying back. Mecha Rouge ran over and was able to get in another kick before Scales got back up. The lizard started to turn, indicating a tail whip. Mecha Rouge dropped, thinking she could get in another kick. However, Scales abruptly swung her tail down, striking the robot like she had wanted. Mecha Rouge yelped and got back up, only to get struck in the face by Scales' tail. Before the robot could do anything more, Scales launched into a Homing Kick, smashing into Mecha Rouge and driving her into the snow behind her. She got up and fired another Black Wave. Scales dodged the attack and hit Mecha Rouge with another Homing Kick. As the robot staggered back, Scales fired a Serpent Strike, exploding on impact with Mecha Rouge. The robot moaned and fell to the ground. The metal body fell apart, revealing Rouge. Yes, she was wearing her normal clothes you pervert! Scales sighed. "I didn't want to hurt you Rouge. Sorry." Of course, Rouge had no way of responding considering the fact that she was filled to the brim with nanites. Scales heard a deep chuckle behind her. She whirled around and saw the massive monster from the wedding. "Let me guess. You're the third of the Demonic Four?" she said sardonically. The monster nodded. "Correct. I am Baal, and I have come for the Chaos Emeralds seeing how Mecha no. 2 has failed her duty to our master" Scales glared at him. "I doubt you'll tell me who your master is, or why he needs the Emeralds so badly, or why he's using all of Snively's stuff, so let's just forget the chitchat and start beating the crap out of each other?" Baal flexed his freaky fingers. "Sounds good to me. I will enjoy squashing you like a little gnat." Baal started towards Scales.  
  
Baal  
  
The great monster swung a massive arm at Scales. She backflipped from the blow and had to keep backflipping to stay away from the big beast. When she was far enough away from Baal, she waited for him to get a little closer then used a Homing Kick on his face before he could swing at her. He grunted and swatted her away. The strength of his hit knocked her several yards away. She groaned and got up, ducking immediately to avoid a blow that would have knocked her head off. Baal brought an arm down in a powerful piledrive, trying to smash Scales. She jumped out of the way and ran around behind him. Before Baal could turn around, Scales swung her tail at a leg, knocking him off his feet. Before the behemoth could get back up, Scales ran over his back, avoiding the spikes, and got to the top of his head as Baal got back up. The monster looked around, trying to figure out where Scales was. That's when her head filled his single eye as she bent over and yelled "Peekaboo!" The monster growled and tried to smash her skull in with his arm. She pulled her head up immediately, causing Baal to hit himself in the face. He staggered back, causing Scales to fall off of him. She smirked at the furious creature. "Stop hitting yourself!" she yelled, jumping out of the way of another piledrive. She launched into a Homing Kick while Baal's guard was down, hitting him in the face again. He reeled back, now more than just a little mad. He ran away, then turned around. "Take this!" He yelled, stomping hard on the ground. A shockwave rippled out, smashing ice in its path and heading for Scales. Scales simply jumped over the wave, allowing it to pass beneath her. She started running for the monster, intent on showing him some more pain. Baal created more shockwaves, each of which Scales jumped over, using Homing Kicks to move over the waves that came in more than one group. Finally, she got to the monster and delivered another Homing Kick to his face. Baal swatted Scales away, only to see her get up several yards away. That did it. "Okay, I'm sick of this! Elder Shot!" the shoulder mouths opened, firing twin balls of darkness at Scales. She ran right towards Baal, rolling just before the balls could hit her. She somersaulted beneath the two projectiles and kept going, jumping as the balls struck the ground and exploded. The force of the blast pushed Scales forwards, right towards Baal. As the monster's single eye widened, she flipped around and launched into a high-powered Homing Kick, striking him in the face once again and stunning him. Scales dropped to the ground and cupped her hands upward as Baal flailed his arms around, temporarily blinded by the blow her kick had delivered to the monster's eye. "Serpent Strike!" The green snake shot forth, exploding in Baal's face. The monster screamed and started to fall over. Scales darted out of the way as Baal hit the ground, shaking the glacier and causing quite a few cracks in its surface. Scales panted, quickly recovering. "Like they always say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall." Baal groaned and staggered to his feet. "Well, I admit you were better than I thought, but next time we meet I will-" "I'm over here!" Scales yelled from behind the monster. Baal looked around confused, before realization set in. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHH! You've blinded me! Oh, when I find you, I swear you'll be pounded so far into the ground you'll have to look up to look down!" "That doesn't even make sense." Said Scales loudly. "Oh yeah? I'll show you!" Baal yelled, running towards where he thought Scales was, which was completely the wrong direction. As Scales snickered, a great shadow blotted out the sun. She looked up and gasped. The giant airship that had assaulted Angel Island just last night was floating above the glacier. She could now see that the Snively face on the nose of the ship had been crossed out as well. Other than that, the ship was unchanged. A loudspeaker lowered from the bottom of the ship. An unfamiliar voice blared out from the speaker, echoing across the frozen mountain. "Very impressive, lizard. I watched the whole fight, both of them, from up here. While I admit you may have gained some slight skill as was obvious by your victory over the first three of the Demonic Four, you are not good enough to defeat Beelzebub or myself. In any case, gaze in awe at this, the Snivel Carrier III, one of Snively's last remaining weapons and my flagship. But even the power of this awesome vessel is nothing compared to that which will be obtained when I take your Chaos Emeralds! Now, I'll just take Baal and leave you to your measly victory. Baal! Come over to the tractor beam!" A tractor beam shot from the underside of the ship. "Yes Master!" said Baal, running in the opposite direction from the beam. The voice cursed. "No Baal, over here! No, no, no, a little to your right! No, not my right, your right! Argh, your other right! Oh for the love of-" The tractor beam swept over the stumbling Baal, lifting him towards the ship. "There, we'll just grow you a new eye so this won't be an annoyance in the future. Farewell lizard, we shall meet again soon!" The tractor beam pulled Baal through a hatch and vanished. The Snivel Carrier III turned and flew away. Scales scratched her head. "Well, that was weird. Guess I'd better get back, it's getting late." Scales walked over to Rouge's prone body and picked it up. "Hope you weren't exposed to the cold too long. Let's pray that you're okay, Rouge, or Knuckles will never forgive me when we cure him. Chaos Control!" Scales warped away, returning to the nice, warm hotel suite.  
  
Good lord, I do this pretty fast don't I? Well, with another chapter completed, it's time for another interview with our heroine! Scales, how are you doing? Scales: Fine, Pi2. Me: Good, good. Hey, I have a few questions from the readers for you. Well, they're mostly from the same guy, but they're interesting questions nonetheless. Scales: Really? Let's hear them. Me: Okay. First off, are you the Biolizard's sister? Scales: (laughs) Of course not! In this universe, I AM the Biolizard! Pi2 thought the Biolizard in Sonic Adventure 2 was a girl because it laid eggs. Since Shadow and Biolizard were both made by Dr. Gerald, that would make them siblings like I am with Shadow in this universe. Pi2 wanted to make a Biolizard-like character for the Shadow world, and here I am! Me: Next question is from Maverick 1812. Scales, what do you say to you're detractors who say that a lizard as an Ultimate Lifeform is more suited to, say a campy old Godzilla Movie? Scales: I say that if they wanted their spleens handed to them, they should have just asked! Kidding, kidding. Seriously, I think they're sort of right. Of course, that's why Pi2 here gave me this nice, sleek, gorgeous body instead of that hideous clunky form I used to have as Biolizard, so I wouldn't be a giant monster. I mean, could you just imagine me doing something like Final Chase as the Biolizard? Please! Me: Next question, also from Maverick. Also, who would you say is the better Ultimate Lifeform; You, Amy, or Shadow? Scales: Hard to say. I could be vain and say me, but that's not really true. It isn't Amy because she was meant to be a feminine clone of Shadow but her genes went berserk, causing her to be pink among other things. While she is immortal, allowing her to match up with Shadow, she is more of a failed experiment than a real Ultimate Lifeform. No offense intended for my little sister-in-law, of course. Me: Of course. Scales: Although I am better at some things than Shadow, since I am a little older than him, not to mention the whole destiny thing I now have upon me, Shadow is the true Ultimate Lifeform as far as I know. He has the same level of Chaos training as me and needs no life support system. I'm just the prototype; he's the real thing in a way. But you readers can have your opinions as to which of us is the greatest. Just because I'm the star for this game and the next one doesn't mean Shadow is weaker than I am. Me: Last question, also from Maverick. Also, if challenged as the ultimate lifeform would you a) fight them DBZ style b) write them a nasty note c) go postal and try to kill Homer Simpson or d) None of the above? Scales: None of the above. I don't really care who challenges me, I know I am one of the two Ultimate Lifeforms. Whenever Shadow and I have fought, just because one of us wins doesn't mean one is stronger, it just shows that we both can get lucky sometimes. Of course, if somebody totally new like some dumb authors I know challenged me, I would go for fighting them DBZ style and kicking their asses. Me: Thank you Scales. That's all the time we have for now. See you next time! Scales: Please review, the more inspiration he gets, the sooner he finishes the story and moves on to my well-anticipated sequel! 


	7. The Twinkle Grand Prix

Hello again! Why am I doing this so fast? You'd think I'd be suffering from cramps by now. Anyway, I hope you liked the last interview with Scales. This chapter is going to be something interesting, a two-parter! Enjoy it, please! And I hope you're reading the interviews at the end of every chapter. Disclaimer: Feh.  
  
Day 2, 10:00 AM  
  
Scales watched as Big grumbled and tried yet another pattern of buttons on his control panel, failing to show a result. Rouge and Knuckles were now lying side by side, both still out. As a joke, Scales had moved their hands to hold each other for romantic reasons. Big shook his head. "This isn't working! I still can't figure out what makes these things tick! No matter what I try, these stupid nanites won't budge!" "Well, we don't have much else to do. You have to keep trying, Professor." Said Scales. Big sighed. "I know, I know, but what am I supposed to do? This just isn't working!" Scales put a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Rose, you've been working almost twenty-four hours straight. Maybe you should take a rest and enjoy the luxuries of the hotel, and get back to finding a cure for the nanites later." Big thought a moment. "You know, you're reasoning is fit Scales. Very well, I will take a rest. Maybe a little catnap will do me some good." Big walked to one of the bedrooms, probably to go to sleep. Robotnik walked in a minute later. "Scales, I-" He paused. "Where is Big?" "He's taking a catnap. He'll be out for hours. Have you found the last Emerald not in enemy hands?" Scales asked. Robotnik blinked, getting back on course. "Right, right, the Emerald. I have pinpointed its location to Station Square's famous amusement park, Twinkle Park. I'm not sure where exactly the Emerald is, but I trust you can find it." Scales saluted. "Don't worry doc, I'll get that Emerald, and then we'll see about finding that villain and the last Emerald!" "Good luck!" Robotnik said as Scales warped away.  
  
After warping to Station Square and getting directions, Scales found her way tot he entrance of the amusement park. After being forced to pay for a fairly expensive ticket, Scales gained entry to the park. After wandering around for a while, dazzled by the crowds, the sights, and the various rides of the park, she found one of those weird carnival games. You know the type, where you waste your money trying to get an unwinnable prize because the game itself is rigged so as not to ever let anyone win. Scales was astonished to see that the grand prize for this game was the gray Chaos Emerald! She got the booth operator's attention. "Excuse me sir, how much for that gray gem?" The operator, a weasel, laughed. "Oh no ma'am, you can't buy that little trinket! You have to win it!" Scales shrugged. "Okay, how do I win it?" The weasel smiled in a creepy way and pointed to the game itself, which appeared to involve whacking heads that popped out of a hole with a plastic hammer before they could go back into the holes. "It's simple. Just hit the hedgehogs before they go back in their little burrows to score points. Score enough points to win a prize. It takes 10 points to get a tiny stuffed weasel (like yours truly), 50 to earn a toy cannon that really fires projectiles that could easily put someone's eye out, 100 points to win a stuffed Snively figurine, and 150 points to win a really heavy paperweight." "How many points do I need to win the Emerald?" Scales persisted. "About 1000." The weasel said nonchalantly. Scales gaped. "That's highway robbery!" The weasel shrugged. "That's how business works, baby. So, you want a try?" Scales grimaced. "How much for a play?" "Five bucks." Scales handed him the money and he handed her a plastic hammer. "Okay, here we go. Watch carefully." The weasel flipped a switch under the counter, starting the game. Heads that looked uncomfortably like Shadow and Amy started popping out of the holes, moving at speeds faster than most cars. Scales struggled to hit them, but they were too fast. She only managed to hit one hedgehog, and then the weasel stopped the game. "Oh, too bad, you're out of time! And you only got ten points too. Here, have a handsome likeness of myself." Said the weasel, reaching for the doll. Scales scowled. "No way! I want another try, and this time set it a little slower please." The weasel laughed as he took five more dollars. "What are you, kidding? That was the slowest setting!" As Scales took up her hammer, the weasel started the game. Instead of just waiting for the hedgehogs to pop out, Scales started smacking her hammer every few milliseconds, using her scanners to determine when and where each hedgehog would pop out. Using this method, she managed to rack up one hundred points in only five seconds. By the time the desperate weasel shut down the machine, the scoreboard showed Scales had gained one thousand, six hundred and forty points. The weasel gaped. "No way! You must have cheated!" Scales shook her head. "Nope. I did it fair and square. Give me my prize, please." Furious, the weasel grabbed the Chaos Emerald and threw it at Scales' head. She grabbed it before it could hit. "There! Take it and go away! You'd better not tell anyone what happened here, or I'll-" Scales laughed. "You'll what? I'm practically a celebrity, mister! I should turn you in for rigging this game so unfairly, but I'll let you off this time." Still laughing, she walked away as the weasel fumed. "Well, that was fun. Now to-" Suddenly, a silvery figure shot past, grabbing the Emerald from her hand. The figure ran off into the crowd, rudely shoving people out of the way. "What the hell?! Stop, thief!"  
  
Stage 5: Twinkle Park. Mission: Chase after the thief.  
  
Scales ran after the figure, catching up quickly but losing the culprit as it stormed past people waiting in line and barged into a really big building with the words, "Twinkle Circuit and Star Castle" in big neon letters. Scales followed the thief, also barging past tourists and customers. She charged inside the building and through the lobby, past the startled security guard and up some stairs to the beginning of the ride. She saw she was in a large area with a track leading out into what looked like space but that was really a fantastically well designed backdrop. There were several empty bumper cars. Scales saw the thief jump in a car and drive down the track. Scales was about to continue pursuit when several Kikis jumped out from bumper cars and attacked her. She quickly killed the clever robot monkeys and jumped into an adult-sized bumper car, driving down the track in pursuit of the thief and the Chaos Emerald. She drove the car down a slope that soon straightened out into a level road. She turned right then left, following the road. She went forward for a while, unable to catch sight of her quarry. She suddenly lurched, her entire car shaking. What was going on?! Scales looked to her right and saw a Kiki driving a bumper car next to her. It chittered evilly and rammed her car again, nearly knocking her off the track. Scales rammed it back, shaking the robot monkey a bit. He Kiki hooted and pulled out a bomb. Scales quickly slammed into the Kiki's bumper car, causing it to drop the bomb. It screeched as the bomb flashed and exploded, destroying the monkey and leaving the bumper car surprisingly unscratched. They were apparently made of tough material. Scales veered a little to follow a slight dip to the right in the track, going forward for a minute or two. The track started curving, going down and underneath the immediate road. Scales turned her bumper car, staying on the track and going down the loop. She passed beneath the upper path and proceeded for a while, until she saw a gap in the path ahead. She put the accelerator to the max, careening for the edge. The bumper car sailed off the end of the path, soared through the air, and landed with a bump on the other side. Pleased, Scales kept going, turning right then left and going around a long U-bend. As she came to the straightaway after the U-bend, a pair of Kikis in bumper cars suddenly attacked her. They came up on either side of her and drove inwards, trying to smash her. Scales hit the brakes. The Kikis shot ahead and collided with each other, the recoil knocking both of them off the edge of the track. Chuckling at the poor monkeys, Scales started driving again, soon going at full speed once more. She followed a few bends in the path, going right and left, before taking a sharp turn to the right followed by another to the left. She went on a straightaway for a while and was then caught up to by three Kikis in bumper cars. The robot monkeys surrounded her from the back and both sides, trying to make sure she couldn't escape. They rammed her, shaking her car as they bumped it repeatedly. Scales protested loudly, but the Kikis chittered and kept attacking. After several minutes of struggling to get away from the monkeys and moving very slowly, Scales suddenly realized this was very stupid. She got up in her seat, reached over to her right and ripped the Kiki's head off. She chucked it at the one on her left, knocking it silly and causing it to fall behind. Then, she accelerated so the Kiki behind her would get left in the dust. The remaining Kiki hooted and sped up as well, chasing after Scales. Scales went over a dash panel and drove through a total of three loops, staying in the center to keep from getting thrown off. The Kiki wasn't so lucky, and ended up shooting off the side of a loop and crashing right into the painted Big Dipper, exploding. Scales grinned and came off the end of the third loop, passing over a very narrow section of road and going up a steep hill. She went at top speed once she got up the hill, following the track to the right and the left, leaping over a gap before following a short straightaway and a narrow road. At the end of the narrow path was the end of the Twinkle Circuit, a parking space for bumper cars. Scales maneuvered the vehicle into a space and looked around. She saw the back of something that looked like chrome just before it ran through a door at the back of the parking space. Scales got out of the car and was a bout to run after the thief when she heard a screech behind her. She turned around and saw half a dozen bumper cars crashing into the walls around her, the Kiki drivers jumping out and throwing bombs at her. Scales growled and quickly took them out by throwing their own bombs back at them, then ran through the door. She was now in a dock for a roller coaster. She saw an empty train in front of her and realized that if the stupid monkeys hadn't delayed her, she might have been able to catch up with the thief by now. Frustrated, she got in the front cart of the train. The bar rolled down, and the cart was off, going up the roller coaster track. One incredibly fun and gravity-defying roller coaster ride through false outer space later, the train came to a stop in another dock. Scales got out and saw what looked like some sort of castle before her. The thief had to be around here somewhere. It was up to Scales to catch that thief, and get back the Chaos Emerald! Scales ran away from the roller coaster exit and along a path that was mixed with sections of sandy colored tiles and gray ones. She ran through a couple of archways and found a large pool with several stepping stones in it. The pool completely filled up the path, so Scales jumped from stone to stone to get across. She continued down the path, going around the castle, and followed a slope upwards, walking around a pointy tower and up a set of stairs to the front of the castle, coming to a large platform with a big pool. A Kiki threw a bomb at her. She grabbed the bomb and threw it back, killing the monkey. Scales saw a spring pointed at a blue rooftop and bounced off it, landing on the roof. She walked across the sloped roof, keeping her footing, and jumped to a platform with a Kiki. After killing the monkey, Scales saw the first of three spinning pointy towers a little distance away. She jumped from the end of the platform and used a Homing Kick to reach the tower, landing on a flat base around the pointy part. She waited as the tower rotated, timing carefully, and jumped to the next tower. She repeated the process with this tower to get to the third one, and jumped from that spinning roof to a platform. She bounced from a spring on that platform and went higher up the castle. She landed on a platform with another Kiki. She killed it and jumped across three more platforms. She saw a red rooftop nearby, very slanted but with a platform jutting out from it. She jumped and used a Homing Attack to get to the red rooftop and hit a switch. A long chain of Bladed Spinners flew down, forming a path leading to a higher ledge on a different section of the roof. Scales used multiple Homing Kicks to work across the chain of Spinners, landing on the ledge. She saw another switch and activated it, calling down more Spinners. She used a series of Homing Kicks to get along this chain of Spinners and found herself on another ledge with a spring. She bounced off the spring and landed on a platform near the very top of the castle. She saw some stairs leading to a door in the uppermost tower. Scales ran up the stairs and through the door, finding a couple of elevators. She entered one and found there was only one place to go, down. She pressed the button and waited as the elevator descended the shaft, ripping out the speaker when the same god-awful music she had heard in the casino elevator started up. When the doors opened, she looked out and saw she was in a lobby. Scales saw the door leading outside swinging shut, as if somebody had just used it. Scales ran out of the lobby through the door, back into Twinkle Park.  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
Scales looked around and saw she was near an exit to the park. "Where is that thief?" She growled. That's when she saw a chrome figure running out the exit of the park. Scales ran after the thief, continuing the hunt.  
  
How was that? Short, but suspenseful. Don't worry, you'll find out who the thief is next chapter. Anyway, here's this chapter's interview! Scales: Am I supposed to say anything important? Me: No, not really. So Scales, did you enjoy Twinkle Park?  
  
Scales: Yeah, I liked it. The bumper car race with those Kikis was lots of fun, as was that roller coaster ride. Why didn't I catch the thief in this chapter? Me: Because I couldn't remember the reason Sonic used Speed Highway in the game, so I had to make up a reason for you to go there. Scales: Oh. You've just spoiled the next chapter, haven't you? Me: No, anyone who's played Sonic Adventure knows Speed Highway is next. So, who do you think the thief is? Scales: Obviously one of my roboticized friends. It's either Amy or Shadow, not sure who though. Me: Do you think the thief will put up much of a fight? Scales: Yeah, but whoever it is will fail to beat me. You know, this mystery villain would have better luck against one of my friends if he or she managed to roboticize me. Of course, that's just an opinion. Me: Do you have anything to say to your fans? Scales: Yeah, stay in school and don't do drugs. Me: Good message. Now, please review. The next chapter should be up soon. Now, like Maverick, I have to go fight robots in a post apocalyptic war zone. Scales: Can I come? Me: Sure! Let's go kick some robot ass! Scale: Yeah! 


	8. Racing down Speed Highway

I hope you liked Twinkle Park. Now to Speed highway! Wow, I think I'm one of the fastest writers on the site. I wonder if there's a way I can find out. By the way, if any of you could leave a list of the attacks used by the characters in SA2: B two-player mode in your review, it would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I regret to inform you this will be a short level. Disclaimer: Bah humbug.  
  
Day 2, 12:00 PM  
  
Scales raced down the streets of Station Square, jumping over cars and pedestrians in her relentless pursuit for the thief who took the gray Chaos Emerald. Her primal instincts had taken over, inherent despite being grown in a test tube. In a way, she could feel the spirits of her velociraptor ancestors guiding her, leading her into a modern day version of a hunt. She hopped over several taxis and started to close in on her prey. The chrome thief suddenly turned, running into a building. Scales screeched to a halt and almost crashed into a tree planted on the sidewalk. She ran into the skyscraper and saw the thief enter an elevator. She burst into a run, springing into a pounce. She would have got the thief then and there if the doors hadn't suddenly closed, causing Scales to slam into them and make a large dent. Snarling, Scales ignored the odd looks everyone else in the building's lobby was giving her and watched as the sign over the elevator changed, showing which floor it was on. The number stopped on floor twelve for a minute, then started coming back down. Scales rushed to a stairwell and started running up the steps five at a time, rushing to get to the twelfth floor before her quarry could escape. She burst out the door and onto the twelfth floor, startling some engineers who were lounging by a water cooler. Catching a glimpse of metal passing around a corner, Scales ran down the hallway. She rounded the corner and saw her prey, frozen due to the fact that the hall didn't go anywhere. The thief turned around and Scales saw the face of her prey. It was Amy, roboticized. This revelation startled Scales, temporarily bringing her out of her hunter instincts. While Scales was momentarily distracted, the robot Amy pulled out her Piko Piko Hammer and smashed a nearby window, jumping out. Scales gasped and ran to the window. She saw her roboticized sister in law land on a section of highway passing right next to the building. The barricade near the building indicated this portion of the highway was under construction. Scales sighed and jumped out as well, using her jet anklets to slow her fall. It took a few minutes, but she eventually reached the surface of the highway. Unfortunately, the robotic Amy was already gone, somewhere further down the highway. Before restarting the pursuit, Scales checked herself, seeing she was still in battle mode. Reassured that she would be going at optimum efficiency, she continued the hunt.  
  
Stage 6: Speed Highway. Mission: Get back the Chaos Emerald.  
  
Scales ran down the highway, smashing through several Rhino Tanks in her way. The road sloped down and curved into sort of a half-pipe lined with dash panels. Scales ran along the road, over the dash panels, propelling her fast enough to run through a large loop. She got through the loop and kept going, following the curving road to the right through the half pipe and onto a jump plate. She launched off the jump plate and flew through the air, landing on a skylight. The glass broke out from under her, dropping her into a room with two Bladed Spinners. She killed the Spinners and ran out through an opening in the wall, bouncing off a spring and landing on top of a skyscraper. She saw a moving platform and jumped to it when it got close. She jumped off when she got to the next stretch of highway. She ran forward, moving over dash panels as the road curved up and went completely sideways, ending right at the face of a nearby skyscraper. Using her immense speed, Scales actually ran across the side of the skyscraper and to the next stretch of road, running on the side as it eventually leveled out and kept going. She followed the road as it curved into a downward spiral, following the spiral and dispatching any Spinner or Tank foolish enough to attack her. After some cool gravity-defying runs, Scales reached a point where the road stopped on top of a skyscraper. She saw the next stretch of road leading off from the right side of the skyscraper. As she started over there, she heard sirens. A pair of Cop Speeders piloted by Kikis flew towards her. Scales knocked the monkeys from their cockpits with a few Homing Kicks and ran to the road on her right. She followed the road as it curved up and by a skyscraper, going higher and sort of straighter until it came to a stop, a gap separating it from the next section of road, which was at a higher level. Scales saw a ramp on the right side of the road and ran up it, jumping from the end and reaching the upper path. She ran along the upper path, killing some Rhino Tanks and reaching the top of a skyscraper, which had a helipad with a helicopter just taking off. Scales jumped and grabbed one of the helicopter's landing rails and hung on as it flew over the city. Scales peered around, looking for the next section of highway. She saw it and waited until the helicopter was close before letting go. She landed on another skylight and broke through. She killed the two Bladed Spinners and bounced on the spring outside the opening in the wall, landing on another skyscraper. She jumped to a moving platform and got off when it got near the next stretch of road. She ran along the road as it curved to the left in a half-pipe, going into a corkscrew and leveling out to reach the top of a skyscraper. As Scales stepped onto the skyscraper, more Cop Speeders flew towards her. She jumped at exactly the right moment, causing the Kiki-driven vehicles to crash into each other and explode. Scales ran to the other end of the roof and got onto the next stretch of highway, running along it as it curved down in a spiral. She ran past some Rhino Tanks, not even bothering to let them try and ruin her fun, and stopped on another skyscraper. More Cop Speeders rushed towards her. She destroyed the Kiki pilots with Homing Kicks and found a rocket on the side of the roof. She grabbed the rocket and was launched away. She let go of the rocket and dropped to the next section of road. Some Rhino Tanks charged her. She easily killed them and ran along the road as it curved a little, but straightened out and went up to the top of another building. As she reached the roof, yet more Cop Speeders rushed her. Wondering where these monkeys had stolen all these speeders from, Scales quickly dismantled the Kikis and grabbed another rocket, launching away. She dropped from the rocket as she went over the next section of road. She ran along it, smashing some stupid Rhino Tanks, and ran over several dash panels as the road twisted into an awesome and gravity-defying corkscrew. Scales ran through the corkscrew and through an upward spiral ramp and headed up the sloping highway to another building. She was fully irritated when another group of Cop Speeders mobbed her. She quickly killed the Kikis and found another rocket. She grabbed it and shot across the city. She dropped from the rocket and landed on a skylight. The glass broke, but instead of landing in a room, Scales was now falling straight down! Thinking quickly, she moved herself to the side of the building with her jets and flipped so her feet faced the wall. She maneuvered herself so she was just millimeters from the wall and started moving her legs, making contact with the building. She was now running down the side of the skyscraper! She ran at maximum speed to keep herself from falling off, dodging terraces and balconies on her way down the building. After a few minutes of running, she approached the ground. She jumped from the surface and immediately activated her jets, slowing her descent and allowing her to hover safely to the ground. She blinked and smiled. "Whoa, what a rush!" she said. She looked around, trying to figure out where to go next. She was in an alley with only one exit. She ran out the end of the alley and paused to sniff the air, trying to pick up Mecha Amy's scent. The scent trail was getting faint, but still there. Scales followed the sidewalks and streets, running after the scent. She approached a street that bent up ahead into a large U-turn. She groaned when she heard the sirens from several Cop Speeders heading her way. She ran across the street, jumping from car roof to car roof and unsettling the passengers, noticing a spring. As she reached the spring, a Cop Speeder flew towards her. Scales killed the robot with a Homing Kick and bounced off the spring, landing on a large bridge that went over the street and through a few skyscrapers. She ran down the bridge, going through a building and coming out at the other side of the U- turn. Scales jumped off the bridge, using her jets to hover to the sidewalk. Her more primeval instincts kicked in again. The scent was stronger! The prey was near! Scales had to find the quarry, and move in for the kill! She ran down the sidewalk, the scent getting stronger and stronger. She turned off the road and came to a courtyard with a big water fountain next to a large cathedral. Scales looked up at the cathedral's bell tower, sniffing. All her ancient raptor senses told her the prey was in the bell tower. She considered entering the cathedral and finding a way to get up to the tower, but considering her appearance and current hunt- driven mindset, she might be mistaken for a demon. Some priest might try something weird like exorcising her or throwing holy water. Scales thought for a moment, looking at the water fountain and noticing how large it was and how high its spout went. She got an idea. She jumped in the water fountain and waded over to the spout as it got lower. She stood in the middle of the fountain, waiting for the spout to go off again. The water flow shot out, launching Scales into the air. She activated her jets to make full use of the boost and rocketed into the bell tower.  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
Mecha Amy stepped back, surprised that Scales had caught up to her. "How did you find me?" she asked, incredulous. Scales smirked. "Part of my genetic makeup is from raptor DNA, the master hunters of the Cretaceous. Catching up to you was an inevitability, little sister." The robot blinked, confused. "Sister? Invalid statement." Scales sighed. "Whatever. Look, just give me the Chaos Emerald you stole and I won't have to take you back to your father in too many pieces." Mecha Amy seemed even more confused. "Father? Strange. That almost seems familiar." She shook her head. "No! This Emerald belongs to my master! I will give it to him, along with the other six you possess!" Mecha Amy drew her hammer. Scales sagged. "Amy, please, if I hurt you too badly, Shadow'll kill me! If we figure out how to cure this nanite thing, that is." Mecha Amy faltered. "Sh-sh-sh-shadow?" She shook her head again, trying to clear her mind. "Stop messing with me! I'll take those Emeralds from your dead body!" She yelled, charging for our heroine.  
  
Mecha Amy  
  
Mecha Amy started with a jump attack, swinging her hammer down at Scales. She dodged and kicked Amy in the sides, knocking her away. The robot winced and swung her hammer, knocking Scales into one of the four pillars in the corners of the bell tower. Before Scales could get up, Mecha Amy hit her in the head with her hammer. Scales staggered around, dazed, barely missing a dangerous spin hammer attack. As Mecha Amy prepared to bring a jump attack hammer down on Scales' skull, the lizard recovered and jumped away, lashing her tail out and knocking Amy away. The android was about to charge Scales again, but had a better idea. She turned and slammed her hammer into the bell. (It was a bell tower after all.) The great bell rang. Scales screamed and held her eardrums in pain. Mecha Amy took advantage of Scales' momentary deafness and smashed into her chest with her hammer. Scales wheezed and clutched her chest, allowing Amy to get in a good swing at her head. As you can see, out heroine isn't doing so well. Mecha Amy used her spin hammer attack, sending Scales crashing into a pillar. The robot brought the hammer up for what could very well have been the final blow if Scales had not recovered in time and jumped out of the way as Amy brought the hammer down, smashing through the pillar. The roof above them creaked dangerously. Scales faced Amy, her back to the bell. As Amy jumped towards her, Scales leaped out of the way, causing Mecha Amy to hit the bell again. Scales was holding her earflaps when the bell rung, protecting her from the sound. As Amy turned towards her, Scales performed a tail whip, knocking the hammer from her hands. Before the robot could go after it, Scales hit Mecha Amy with a Homing Kick, knocking her under the bell. Scales rushed over and picked up the Piko Piko Hammer, then rushed back over to the bell and struck it as Mecha Amy started to get up. The great bell rang, hurting Scales' ears again. But it was even worse for Mecha Amy, who was inside the bell. She screamed as the sonic vibrations from the bell echoed throughout the interior, seriously damaging her systems. She fell to the ground, her armor falling apart and revealing normal Amy. (Yes, she was wearing her clothes.) Scales pulled Amy out from under the bell once it had stopped ringing. "Sorry, little sis." She whispered. She picked up the gray Chaos Emerald, which had fallen from Amy's pocket. She put the Emerald away and was about to pick up Amy and the hammer and leave when suddenly a great shadow blotted out the sun. Scales looked out from the bell tower and gasped, seeing the Snivel Carrier III above the city. As the people of Station Square gaped at the airship, so much like the one built by Snively years ago, the loudspeaker lowered from the great airship, the voice of the mysterious villain booming across the city. "People of Station Square, I have come to you not to demand money, or servitude, or anything for that matter. I have come to show off my magnificent airship for only one reason: to make you see my power. Who am I, you ask? Well, that's not important right now. What is important that you realize that I am the one who will be destroying you and every living thing on the face of the planet. Don't believe me? Perhaps a demonstration is in order." Several hatches opened on the underside of the Carrier, cannons popping out. The guns swiveled, orienting themselves and locking onto their targets. All at once, a dozen cannons fired, each shot hitting with perfect accuracy. And so every building with the universal symbol of the Chao head on it was blown to smithereens, destroying the Chao Gardens within and killing all the people and Chao inside. People screamed and ran. Others gaped at what had just happened. Most cried. The villain laughed and retracted the guns, turning the Carrier away and flying off. Scales couldn't believe what had just happened. "How could he.those were Chao gardens." Tears started leaking from her eyes. The communicator came on. "Scales, what happened? I just picked up a massive power output, what's going on?" Gritting her teeth, Scales answered. "Doc, I've got the Chaos Emerald and Amy. But our new enemy has just done something horrible, something inconceivable to any rational person." "What did he do?" asked Robotnik, concerned. "He blew up every Chao Garden in Station Square." Scales hissed. There was a silence. Scales could almost hear crying on the other end. Of course the doctor would sympathize, he had lost his own Chao to a depraved maniac only a year ago. "However, he has also made the biggest mistake he could possibly make. He ticked me off." Scales cut the signal off. She picked up Amy and the hammer. Taking one last look at the city, hearing the sirens of fire engines in the distance, Scales warped away.  
  
How was that? Sorry about the Chao killing. Really. Scales: (Crying) Why? Why did you let those poor, innocent Chao die? Me: Hey, if it helps, I feel terrible about it! But it was something I needed to do to inspire hate for the villain, like I did for Snively in the last story. I wanted to show everyone that the bad guy was serious about what he did and not just a clown with some heavy weaponry. I needed to show everyone just how bad this guy is, so they'll hate him the more for it and want his demise to be great. Scales: (Sniffs, stops crying.) I guess that makes sense. But those Chao had better get their payback, Pi2. Me: Don't worry, that's what you're going to do. Find the villain and make him pay for murdering those civilians and Chao. When you catch up to the bad guy, I promise you can kill him as violently as you like. Scales: You mean it? Me: Of course. Scales: Okay then, but I had better get this. I want that bastard to burn in Hell. Me: He will, he will. Oh, and I should add I'm giving you a little something nice next chapter. Scales: What? Me: You'll see. Well, I guess that's all the time we have for now. See you next time! Scales: Please review. Don't flame him too harshly, he really had to do this. Also, if you would like to send suggestions on how I kill the villain, go ahead. They probably won't be what ends up happening, but it'll be fun thinking them up all the same. Me: And I swear I really do feel guilty about letting those Chao die. The villain will get justice delivered to him, I promise. 


	9. A New Friend and a Crimson Peak

Look, once more I want to repeat my apologies for the violent deaths of the Chao and the pedestrians in the Gardens when the villain launched his attack. The dead shall have their vengeance. But not yet. By the way Maverick, I'm not completely sure what you were talking about at the beginning of your eighth chapter review, but I really appreciate the information you gave me. I think some of it might come in handy. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter. Disclaimer: I own Stripes the Chao, Scales the Lizard, and some other stuff.  
  
Day 2, 12:30 PM  
  
After dropping off Amy and consoling poor Robotnik, Scales left to exact revenge. The doctor managed to tell her that the energy signature from the last Chaos Emerald was moving around a mountain in the Mystic Ruins area. The only possible way it could be moving was if it were on the Snivel Carrier III, which made sense considering the ship had been heading for the jungle after the attack on Station Square and the only Emerald left was Shadow's. Scales warped to the jungle and was about to head for the appropriate mountain, easily distinguished by the giant airship flying around the top of the peak. Before Scales could head for the mountain, Tikal showed up. "Scales, please come with me." Scales frowned. "Tikal, I have to go up to the mountain and make that villain pay for what he's done." Tikal sighed. "I know Scales, but what about the Chao?" Scales blinked. "What Chao?" "The Chao in the Mystic Ruins Chao Garden, of course. Many of them had friends or relatives in the city and they need consoling. Chaos is already there, along with many of the residents of the jungle. They all need cheering up as well, and trying to help the Chao is the best way to do it." Said Tikal. Scales stopped frowning. "Why do you want me, then?" "Because we need all the help we can get. One or two Chao won't respond to anyone else. Please Scales, come with me. Do it for the Chao, both alive and dead." Tikal begged. Scales paused, then nodded. "All right. I'll come, for the Chao's sake." Tikal bobbed and flew off, leading Scales to the Garden.  
  
The Chao Garden was a beautiful place, as all Chao Gardens were. But the usual atmosphere of love and joy that would have made even a Goth smile was gone. Many Chao seemed a little happier, but most were crying. The archaeologists were all trying to comfort their Chao, but they weren't doing so well. Scales could even see Tails and Cassandra in the Garden, trying unsuccessfully to play with a cute little cheetah Chao. The only Chao who seemed really happy were the ones near Chaos. They were giggling and splashing about in the pond, which Chaos had filled with his essence. Tikal quickly flew off, becoming an echidna again and looking for a Chao to tend to. Scales started walking around, looking for one to take care of. All the Chao in the Garden seemed to be with their owners or other people. Then she noticed a single Chao sitting by itself on a rock near the edge of the Garden. Seeing something she could do, she walked over to the Chao and sat next to it. The poor thing didn't notice her right away. The Chao looked quite strange. It was a Dark Chao, and a male at that. His features were mostly that of a dragon, but a few stripes here and there on his body showed he was part tiger. The odd thing about this Dark Chao was that despite the fact that he had horns, he had a halo over his head, something no Dark Chao Scales had ever seen or heard of before possessed. His skin was gray in color. "Uh, hello." Scales said. The Chao looked up at her briefly, then went back to looking at his feet. "Er, my name is Scales. What's yours?" She immediately chided herself for asking such a stupid question, as if the Chao could answer her. The Chao looked at her and pointed to one of his stripes. "Huh? Is that your name, Stripes?" The Chao nodded and went back to sulking. "I guess you heard about the disaster. Did you lose anyone...special to you?" Stripes nodded slowly. "Was it your family?" The Chao nodded again. "How many of your family was in the city when the attack happened?" Stripes did nothing. "All of them, then." She sighed. "I understand your loss, you know." The Chao looked up at her, curious despite his sorrow. "A long time ago, I lost my entire home and most of my friends. My mother died trying to save my brother and myself. In the end, it seemed her sacrifice was only half worth the effort. My brother made it away safely, but I got caught by the people who were after us." She hesitated. "You don't need to hear about that, I suppose. Anyway, I was very hurt by my mother's death. Probably like you are now." Stripes nodded a little. "The people who caught me...they were very cruel. After doing some...awful things to me, I was left to rot in a little capsule for forty years. Most of my time was spent thinking about my mother's death over and over, slowly driving me insane." She paused. Stripes was looking at her with interest, wanting her to continue. "When I got out of the capsule, all I could think of was avenging my mother by killing those who had done these horrible things. I did, and, well, I was able to let my mother rest in peace." She stopped, suddenly realizing she might give the Chao ideas. "Um, I'm not saying you have to go out and kill the person who killed your family! It's just, uh..." She shook her head. "I'm really not very good at this, am I? I came over here to try to cheer you up, and now I may be convincing you to become the first Chao murderer. Great, that'll put me down in the history books. Bet Chaos would hate my guts as well." She was stopped abruptly when Stripes suddenly jumped off his rock and hugged her chest. Scales blinked. "Did-did I actually do this right? Did I make you feel better?" Stripes looked up at her from her chest and nodded. "Wow, I don't believe it. All I did was tell you a little about myself, and you're over what happened?" Stripes shook his head. "I don't understand. Why are you happy, then?" Stripes hugged her tighter. Scales' eyes widened. "Oh. I see. You want me to adopt you, since you have no family anymore?" The Chao nodded. "Well, I'll give it a shot. I don't want to leave you here all alone, after all." She got up. Stripes let go of her chest and flew up to her shoulder. "I'll just drop you off at the hotel and-" Stripes clutched her neck, whimpering. "You don't want me to leave you? But I'm heading into dangerous territory, I can't bring you with me!" Stripes hugged her neck tighter, coming close to choking her. "Okay, okay, I'll talk to Chaos about it, just let go of my neck!" Stripes obeyed. "Thank you." Scales walked across the Garden and bent over the pond. "Chaos, can I talk to you for a moment?" Chaos' head formed from the water of the pond. "Yes Scales, what is it?" He noticed Stripes. "Hey, you've cheered up a Chao! He seems to have taken a liking to you as well." "Yeah, he sort of wants me to adopt him. Apparently he lost his whole family in the attack on Station Square." Said Scales. "Well that's okay. I think it would be nice for you to take care of this little one." Said Chaos. Scales paused. "Yeah, but there's something else. He doesn't want me to leave him with Robotnik and Big in the hotel room. He wants to come with me, and I'm heading straight for the Snivel Carrier III." If Chaos had a mouth, he would be frowning. He looked at Stripes. "Are you sure you want to do this? Risk your life following her? She will be going through many life-threatening hazards, and you could easily get killed. Even worse, you may have to watch her inflict serious pain on some people. You really want to go with her?" Stripes nodded. Chaos lowered his head. "So be it. If that is truly what you want, I will honor your request. However, I don't want you getting hurt, so I shall provide you with something to keep you with Scales no matter how rough the situation gets." Suddenly, a blue bubble formed around Stripes. A little jag of blue static connected it to Scales' life support system. As Scales and Stripes marveled at it, Chaos explained its purpose. "This bubble will protect you from anything dangerous to your health and also keep you connected to Scales no matter what happens. Scales, if you wish to get rid of the bubble or reform it, it will do so at your will. Are you both fine with that?" Scales and Stripes nodded. "Good. Go forth, destined one, and avenge my fallen children, seeing as how I am unable to." Chaos' head deformed back into the puddle, and the Chao kept playing. With her new companion, Scales left the garden and headed for the mountain. Near the foothills of the mountain, she found a tunnel. She entered the tunnel and walked down its length, finding a fork in the road. To the left, the tunnel led to a pit of lava. To the right, the tunnel led to a small cave. The choice was obvious. Scales went to the right and entered the cave, finding a closed gate with a caged Kiki next to it. The Kiki mocked Scales and Stripes and hurled bombs. Scales retreated away from the monkey's range of fire and tried to think of a way to kill it through the cage, since there were no missiles nearby and the bombs would explode if she tried to touch them. Then she got an idea. She curled into a ball. Playing around, Striped mimicked her. Scales started spinning in place, lights racing around her as her spikes popped out. After a minute, she got up and started glowing. "This is for you, Mother!" she yelled, unleashing the Light Attack. Moving at the speed of light, Scales shattered the cage and the Kiki to pieces, opening the gate. As Stripes made impressed noises, Scales ran through the gate, the Chao trailing after her.  
  
Stage 7: Red Mountain. Mission: Get to the top of the mountain.  
  
In battle mode, Scales was now outside, on a platform at the base of the mountain. There were three Kiki in cages nearby. They threw bombs at her, but were out of range. Scales curled into a ball and charged up her Light Attack. She released it, destroying all the Kikis and causing a rocket to appear from a hatch in the ground. Scales grabbed the rocket and was launched, going higher and higher up the mountain. She dropped to a ledge and paused to make sure Stripes was still with her. She needn't have bothered; he was still floating in his little ball. Scales ran along the ledge to her right, moving carefully around some giant spiked balls floating in the air, and saw what looked like a set of monkey bars at the end of her ledge. Going along with it, Scales jumped and grabbed the monkey bars. She swung along the horizontal ladder, dropping to the next ledge. She walked around a floating spiked ball and hit a button, raising a rocket from a hatch. Scales grabbed the rocket and shot up the mountain, going higher and higher still. She let go and landed on another ledge. She followed it to the right and jumped to a platform with a spring. She bounced off the spring and ricocheted off a few other springs attached to natural pillars before landing on a platform with dead trees. She killed a Rhino Tank and headed to the right, going across a ledge with a bumpy surface and reaching a bridge. She crossed over the bridge and got to a ledge with lots of spiked balls. She ran around the floating maces and bounced off a spring, landing on a platform with a Gola. She jumped above the robot and shot down with a homing Kick, evading the flames and destroying the machine. She saw a nearby platform, noticing with distaste that it was on fire, as were the next few after it. She waited for the flames to subside, then hopped across the platforms before the flames could rekindle. She bounced off a spring on the next platform and landed on a small tier. She dropped from the tier and landed on a large platform below. She saw a metallic platform nearby and jumped to it. Two Kikis immediately attacked her. She killed the robot monkeys with a few tail swipes and jumped to another platform, hitting a switch. A rocket raised out of a hatch on the ground, ready for her use. She grabbed the rocket and launched up, scaling the mountain area. She dropped from the rocket and landed on a ledge with a Gola. She killed it and saw a long line of monkey bars suspended on the wall above a pit of lava. She jumped to the nearest set and started swinging from bar to bar. When she reached the end, she jumped to the next set and repeated the process. After going across about six monkey bars, Scales dropped to a ledge. Across a wide gap was a massive pillar with the next ledge on it. A few Bladed Spinners floated in the gap. Scales used Homing Kicks to get across the gap and the robots, landing on the ledge. She saw there were two green metal platforms above her, one spinning in place, the other still. Scales bounced off a spring and landed on the spinning platform. Before she could fall off of the tilting platform, she jumped to the next platform. She ran across the platform and down a green ramp, going over another gap and reaching a ledge with a rocket. Scales grabbed the rocket and was launched up the mountainside, going higher still. She dropped from the rocket and landed on the platform. She followed it to the right and saw a long line of Bladed Spinners leading to the next platform. She Homing Kicked across the robots, landing next to yet another rocket. She grabbed it and was launched up the mountain, going even higher. She dropped to a ledge and found a pulley. She jumped to the pulley and was raised up to the entrance of a chute. She jumped into the chute and slid down, landing in a tunnel inside the mountain. She followed the tunnel as it curved upwards, smashing several Rhino Tanks and curving to the left, past a pool of water, before coming out of the long tunnel. The heat suddenly increased dramatically. It was obvious to Scales and Stripes as they exited the tunnel why. They were now in a cavern full of lava. Scales looked around and saw a trio of green platforms to her left. Very carefully, she hopped across the platforms, not wanting to fall into the lava. She jumped to a larger platform and was attacked by a Leon. She quickly located the chameleon with her scanners and killed it, getting another cheer from Stripes. She walked across the platform and used a Homing Kick to kill a Bladed Spinner and another one to get to the platform behind it. She was now at the edge of a field of platforms in the lava, each with a Spinner hovering in the gaps. Scales Homing Kicked her away across the platforms, eventually reaching a much larger gap with three Bladed Spinners leading to the start of a big ledge curving around the edge of the lava chamber. Scales walked along the ledge, killing Rhino Tanks and a Unidus or two before reaching the end. A platform sat across an expanse of lava from her. She used a Homing Kick to kill a few Bladed Spinners and land on the platform, then jumped to a smaller greenish platform nearby. She then proceeded to hop across a series of large rectangular platforms near a wall, leading towards a platform at the base of a large ledge. Scales reached the platform and climbed to the ledge. As she did so, the room started to rumble, the lava rising rapidly! Scales and Stripes screamed and ran across the ledge, trying to outrun the flow of molten rock. Scales ran over a set of dash panels pointing for a tunnel and zipped down it, the lava chasing after her. As Scales rushed down the tunnel, the lava gaining on her, Stripes shrieked, pointing to the light up ahead. "That's the sunlight! We're almost out of here Stripes, don't worry!" Scales ran out of the tunnel and onto a ramp in the fresh air. As the lava hurtled after her, out of the mountain, Scales hit a jump plate and launched over a gap. The lava couldn't go up the slight ramp leading to the plate and subsided, falling over the sides of the ramp and soon hardening into rock. Scales landed on a ledge. She wiped some sweat from her brow. "Well, that was tough." Stripes nodded, then saw something and pointed, yelling. Scales looked where he was pointing and saw a trio of Kikis, each of them toting a bomb and looking ready to exact vengeance for their fallen comrades. Despite their not being in a cage, Scales dispatched them as easily as ever, blowing up two of them with their own bombs. The monkeys gone, Scales walked along the ledge, past several tiny spiders, until she reached one last rocket. Scales grabbed the rocket and was launched up, going to the highest point of the mountain. Scales dropped from the rocket, landing on the very pinnacle of Red Mountain.  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
Scales peered around, soon spotting the Snivel Carrier III as it started to move past her, filling up her entire range of vision. Stripes made noises. "Yeah, it is big, isn't it? Now, how are we going to get on?" As if on cue, the giant airship suddenly transformed, the wings splitting apart like an X. The bottom half of the ship broke apart, forming a series of decks and columns. The top of the ship shifted, parts of it lowering into the main body and forming blocks, walls, and obstacles. The front was the only part of the ship that remained the same. Scales blinked. "Okay, that was convenient. Do you think he knows we're here?" Stripes nodded. "Yeah, he probably does. I guess this is an invitation for us. Hang on tight, little guy. Chaos Control!" In a flash of green light, the two of them warped from the mountaintop, going for the bottom of the newly formed decks, and possibly a final confrontation. (Yeah, right.)  
  
Another semi-cliffhanger! What will Scales confront on the Snivel Carrier III? Find out next time! But for now, let's have our interview. Scales, do you like Stripes?  
  
Scales: (Still has Stripes attached to her in the bubble.) Yeah, thanks Pi2! Me: You're quite welcome. Now, we've got some more questions from your fans. Ready? Scales: Yeah, bring them on. Me: Okay, here's our first one. Ultrafan X wanted to know where Sonic was in this universe. He asks whether or not he ever became a hero because Shadow was here instead. Scales: That's easy, Sonic doesn't exist in this reality. It would be too confusing to have him cluttering things up. Besides, no offense to Sonic lovers, but I don't think Sonic honestly fits Ultimate Lifeform material or deserves the love of Amy. Shadow's more suited for that in my opinion. Me: Couldn't have said it better myself. Next question, from our #1 fan Maverick. He asks this question: Scales, If you somehow in some possible way only had.one day to live...what would you do? Scales: Either I'd get my life support fixed since that's the only way something like that could possibly happen, or I'd spend my last day with my friends and family. That's all I can really say for that. Me: Okay, Maverick has another question. In SA2 if you had been where Amy was would you have been so violent after Snively's horrible act or would you have tortured him first? Scales: (Frowns.) I never torture people. Not after the torture I went through so many years ago. I try to make my killings swift, albeit painful, but swift. If I had been in Amy's place and loved Shadow and wasn't his sister, then let me put it this way: Before Snively could get off a single shot, his head would be rolling on the floor. Me: Um, gross. Final question, also from Ultrafan X. Here it is: Oh, Scales, instead of beating up Robo-shadow, why don't you tell him stuff about the past to jog his memory and override the roboticization. It worked for uncle chuck (See Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon and Archie Comics). Anyway, then Shadow can access his database, since he's still robotic, and figure out how to destroy the nanites. Scales: Interesting suggestion, but I'm afraid it wouldn't work. As you saw in the last chapter, Mecha Amy reacted slightly to my words. However, her programming overrode her emotions, suppressing the real Amy. If I tried to remind Mecha Shadow of his life, he would tune me out and focus on his mission. Besides, technically the roboticization process doesn't actually convert people or animals into solid metal, which would be impossible. Instead, it encases its victims in a metal body shell that works much like my life support system, supplying the occupant with power and sustenance. While encased in the shell, the victim's brain pattern is repressed, allowing the cybernetics of the robot shell to control the creature's motions and actions. Destroying the robot frees the occupant from the shell, as you've seen in so many Sonic games. Even if it were possible to break the robot from the control of the one who performed the roboticization process, it wouldn't make much of a difference in the way of information. Any information stored in the robot shell's memory banks is automatically erased if the subject regains control of him or herself. So I'm sorry, but we can't find a cure for the nanites or discover the mystery villain's identity that way. Me: Thank you for that explanation, Scales. Now, I have another special treat for you. Scales: What? Me: (Pulls out swindling weasel from Twinkle Park.) I have been requested to kill the weasel. Here you go Scales, do with him what you wish. Scales: YAY! (Proceeds to kill and devour the evil weasel, while I pull Stripes away and cover his eyes to prevent him from being traumatized.) Me: Well, that's it for now. See you next time! Scales: (Looks up, blood and a chunk of weasel meat dangling from her mouth.) And don't forget to review! 


	10. Aerial Acrobatics

I'm so popular! Thank you, thank you all for your kindness! Maverick, Ultrafan X, thank you so much for the weasels! I'm sure Scales will love having them for dinner. I'm glad you all approve of the addition of Stripes, even if he is a minor tag-along who probably will be of no use in battle. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Disclaimer: Yawn.  
  
Day 2, 1:15 PM  
  
Scales and Stripes reappeared at the bottom of the exposed levels of decks. As they did so, the Carrier started flying away from the mountain, towards the sea. They looked around, impressed. "Wow, this thing's even bigger up close!" Stripes nodded in agreement. "So, uh, where do you think we should start? We can't wreak vengeance for the deaths of your family and the other people and Chao if we don't know where we're going." They both thought a moment. Stripes looked up and far away and started yelling. Scales looked where he was indicating. "Yeah, I can see that hole over there. You think we should head up there?" The Chao nodded. "Well, it's as good a place to start as any. Who knows, we might find an entrance to the bridge. Let's go buddy."  
  
Stage 8: Sky Deck. Mission: Reach the bridge.  
  
Scales walked to the edge of the platform they were standing on and jumped to a catwalk. As she started down the catwalk, some cannons lowered from hatches and started taking potshots at the duo. Stripes wailed, warning Scales as the guns began to blow out the walkway beneath them. Scales frantically dashed across the catwalk, jumping over cannon fire and leaping from falling deck sections before they could drop from the ship. They reached a pillar at the end of the walkway, with a ladder leading up the side. Scales quickly climbed up the ladder, out of the range of fire. She stepped off the top of the pillar and onto another walkway. More cannons activated and started firing. Once more, Scales raced across the catwalk, avoiding the fire, until she reached another pillar. She climbed up the ladder and away from the guns. She looked around at the top and saw a trio of floating platforms on her left. She hopped across the platforms, smashing a Bladed Spinner or two, and leaped to the base of another pillar. She climbed up and saw a long path on her right. More cannons were primed and ready. Taking a deep breath, Scales ran down the catwalk. She saw there were hurdles intentionally left in the path and jumped over them as the cannons constantly fired, blasting out the deck behind her. Avoiding shot after shot and jumping over the hurdles, Scales made her way along the walkway until she finally jumped across a small gap at the end, landing on a platform. Nearby were some smaller platforms that led to dead ends and a few pillars floating around. Stripes pointed out a chain of Bladed Spinners leading across the large gap to the base of a pillar. Scales Homing Kicked along the Spinners and dropped to the pillar base, climbing up the ladder and finding another section of walkway. She ran across the walkway as the cannons blew it out behind her, making it safely across and reaching the bottom of a winding yellow staircase. Scales turned right and started running up the stairs. Stripes shrieked a warning, and Scales was almost killed by a giant mace that had been hovering above a step, waiting for a kill. She smiled at the Chao. "Thanks for the warning. I'll make sure to watch where I step from now on, okay?" Stripes nodded. Scales kept going up, walking around the shadows of maces and reaching a landing. Walking around the shadow of the mace on the landing, she went up the next set of stairs, going in the opposite direction of the last set. After dodging more maces, she came to a gap at the top. She saw another stairwell across the gap. She jumped over and continued climbing up, still dodging the maces and going past a landing before reaching the end of the stairwell. She saw a monkey bar on her right. She jumped to the bars and was shocked as it suddenly swung down, a cannon shooting away one of its supports. Scales almost panicked, then saw a platform below. She jumped down and saw a row of Bladed Spinners leading to a new walkway. Scales Homing Kicked across the Spinners, landed on the walkway, and started running immediately to avoid the cannon fire. After jumping from a plummeting section of deck, Scales reached another pillar. She climbed up it and saw another walkway ahead of her. She ran down the path, jumping every other second to keep from falling away or getting hit by the shots, and reached the bottom of another pillar. She climbed up and saw another long catwalk on her left. Growling, she quickly dashed down the walkway, getting halfway across before a single shot was fired. When the cannons did go off, she was already at the other end. She climbed up another pillar and saw a spring at the edge to her right, pointing straight at the rim of a narrow ledge circling a huge column that had one of the propellers keeping the ship aloft at the bottom. She bounced off the spring and landed on the rim. As she carefully edged along the rim of the cannon, heading to her left, she was almost hit by a huge blast from a giant cannon on a higher deck. Scales frantically kept edging along the column, finding a catwalk on the side of the column. She started running down the column, attempting to dodge the shots from the huge cannon, very nearly falling from the ship. After leaping off of multiple falling deck panels, Scales made it to the base of another huge propeller column. She ran around to the back of the column, out of the line of fire. She saw a ladder and climbed up, coming out on a similar ledge as the one below. She worked her way along the ledge and unfortunately came in sight of the big cannon. She made it to another walkway as the thing fired again, nearly killing her. She made it across the catwalk as the giant cannon blew it up, making it to another propeller column. She edged around the ledge and out of the cannon's range, finding another ladder. She climbed up and worked her way around the next ledge, avoiding fire from the giant cannon and finding another catwalk. She ran across as the really big gun fired again, blowing out another section of deck. Running ahead of the big cannon's shots, Scales made it to another propeller column before the whole catwalk collapsed. She quickly worked her way out of the ledge and away from the cannon's range, climbing up another ladder and working her way around another ledge, once again into sight of the cannon and in front of a catwalk. She started running immediately as the cannon blew the first few feet of deck to oblivion and kept going until the reached the base of a pillar. She climbed up the pillar and turned left, dodging not only shots from the giant cannon but from smaller ones on her right. She made it to the base of the next pillar and found that there was a floating mace suspended almost right in front of the ladder. Moving very, very carefully Scales got around the shadow of the mace and onto the ladder. The guns couldn't shoot at her near the pillar, so she was safe for the moment. She climbed to the top of the pillar and gulped. Right across from her on a big platform was the giant cannon. A short catwalk extended from the pillar, ending in a missile aimed right at the cannon. As Scales ran for the missile, more small cannons came out and started shooting at her while the giant cannon started turning around, moving its barrel to face Scales. Scales got to the end of the catwalk. The smaller cannons stopped firing. Just as the barrel of the giant cannon was facing her, Scales stomped on the missile's launch button, shooting it down the barrel of the gun. It exploded, leaving the platform clear. Scales jumped to the platform and saw a spring at one end. She ran to the spring and bounced into the air, grabbing a pulley. She was elevated through the hole in the ceiling, reaching the top of the ship. Scales looked around. "Good eye, Stripes. Nice job finding this hole." The Chao cooed. Scales walked forward, moving a little slower than usual to avoid the crosswind blowing across the ship. She passed a column and was immediately hit from both sides by a pair of cannons. Scales screamed and fell to the ground. The cannons prepared to fire again. She got up and jumped away just in time. The cannon shots passed each other and destroyed the other cannon. She saw the area ahead of her was full of cannons, each turning to set their sights on her. Scales quickly retreated, hiding behind the column as the guns fired at once, blasting away at the column. Covered by the column, Scales curled into a ball and started spinning in place. Stripes mimicked her, trying to spin as well when lights started racing around Scales. After a minute, she got up and started glowing. "This is for you, Mother!" She yelled, unleashing the Light Attack. At the speed of light, she blasted through every cannon on the nearby deck, a spiraling red orange ball leaving a trail of green light. When all the cannons were destroyed, it was safe to proceed. Scales' way was blocked by a large wall. She saw a ramp going up the wall to her right. When she reached the top, she saw a monkey bar above her, leading to a ledge with a spring pointing up. Scales jumped up, grabbing the monkey bar. As she started swinging across, a blast from a giant cannon fell over the wall, obliterating the large section of deck that had once been full of smaller cannons. Gulping, Scales dropped to the ledge and bounced to the spring, landing at the edge of a long portion of deck with a few fighter planes parked on top. In the distance and to the right, she could see the giant cannon. The cannon turned and fired at her. Scales started running immediately. The cannon aimed ahead of her and fired, blasting the large portion of deck she was on. Scales quickly jumped to her right before she could fall, running over a dash panel and getting off the deck section when another cannon shot destroyed it. She raced along the deck, barely managing to jump off each large section as the cannon constantly blew it apart. After several very dangerous jumps and runs, Scales got to the end of the deck and ran to the right as one last shot from the cannon destroyed the entire area. She was now on another portions of deck with four cannons, three medium sized ones and a single giant gun. As the cannons started firing at her, Scales saw a missile pointed at the giant cannon. She ran around the area, dodging shots and smashing the smaller cannons until she got to the missile. When the giant cannon's barrel was pointed at her, Scales stomped the launch button, firing the missile down the gun barrel. The cannon exploded, leaving the lizard and Chao safe for the moment. Scales panted and saw the next section ahead. She walked over through a gap in a barrier, smashing a small cannon on her way through. There was a large wall a bit ahead, blocking her way. Looking around, Scales saw a spring next to an elevated walkway. She went over to the spring and bounced off it, landing on the walkway. She followed it, stopping at the end, which was facing the wall. The gap ahead was too wide to jump, so how would she get across? Then she saw a pair of hooks swinging by from nearby cranes. When one of the hooks swung closer, Scales jumped to it and held on as it swung back and forth. She shifted her body weight around to dodge the fire from cannons that suddenly activated and shot at her. When she got close to the second hook, she jumped to it and held on as she swung closer to the wall, still trying to avoid cannon fire. She jumped off the hook and used a Homing Kick to get to the top of the large wall. She was now on a deck with three large blocks moving back and forth on tracks. At the end of the deck was a wall that went straight up to around the height of the moving blocks, then turned into an upward slope. Several conveyor belts were on this slope. The ones on the left side of the wall were going up, the ones on the right were going down. Scales jumped to the top of a moving block and waited as it moved down its track. She jumped to one of the blocks closer to the left side of the wall and waited as it got closer to the conveyor belts going up. She jumped off the block and landed on the wall, allowing the conveyor to move her up the slope. At the top of the wall, she jumped off the conveyor and was now on another deck with lots of Bladed Spinners flying towards her. Scales killed the Spinners with a number of Homing Kicks, then ran to the end of the deck, smashing a medium cannon and two small ones before reaching another tall wall. There were several monkey bars and springs on ledges at multiple points up the wall. Scales bounced from a spring at the bottom, grabbing a monkey bar above her. She swung along the bars to her right and dropped to a spring. She bounced from the spring and grabbed another set of bars. She swung across the bars and dropped to another spring. His process repeated several times until she reached the top of the wall. A pair of Bladed Spinner, who quickly met their doom, assaulted her. The top of the wall was kind of narrow, another wall right ahead. Scales carefully walked to her left, coming to a spring pointing at the top of a ramp at the end of the wall. She bounced off the spring and landed at the top of the ramp. She walked down to a downward sloping plank, walking carefully so as not to fall off the narrow walkway. After a minute or two, she reached a landing with a switch. She hit it and another catwalk lowered into place, leading to another landing. Scales walked down the plank, turned at the landing, and went to another plank, walking down until she reached a door leading inside. She entered.  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
She was now in a corridor, a door at the other end. She went through the door and was at the bottom of a spiral staircase. She went up the stairs and through another door, entering a large room that could only be a bridge. Unfortunately for Scales, there was nothing in the room but a few robots that ran screaming when she burst in. The captain's seat was empty, and it looked like the ship was on autopilot. Scales growled. "Dammit, where is he?" Stripes shrugged. Scales sighed, disappointed, and sat in the captain's chair to rest for a moment. She was surprised when the seat suddenly moved forward! She jumped off and saw the chair was moving along a track. It stopped, revealing a switch and a door where it had been sitting against the wall. Scales smirked. "Well, maybe we'll find our villain after all, eh Stripes?" Scales pushed the button. The ship rumbled. Some control panels folded up in the bridge, the wings came back together and all the decks on the outside of the ship became the body of the Snivel Carrier III again. The door opened, beckoning the two inside. After exchanging glances, Scales and Stripes went through the door. They went up a short stairway and came out in a large room with several cables and large conduits along the walls and a closed door at the other end of the room. Tikal suddenly appeared in her ethereal form, getting Scales' attention. "Scales, I have an important tip for the next fight!" "What is it?" Scales asked. "Remember that electricity can be both your friend and your foe. Good luck!" Tikal vanished. Scales looked at all the cables and conduits lining the walls and quickly understood Tikal's clue. The door opened, and a robot walked out. Scales wasn't surprised at who it was, she had been expecting it for a long time now. It was Shadow, roboticized. "The Chaos Emeralds...you have them. Give them to me." He said. Scales narrowed her eyes. "Where is the master of this ship?" The roboticized Shadow chuckled. "He's not here. He's safe in his secret base, somewhere you'll never get to. Will you give me the Emeralds, or will I have to take them?" Scales scowled. "Shadow, I really don't want to hurt you. You're my brother, but I'm sure you can't remember any of that now." She sighed. "I'm sure you won't stop obeying your master no matter what I say, so let's just fight for the Emeralds, shall we?" Mecha Shadow nodded. "Splendid idea. Let's begin, shall we?"  
  
Mecha Shadow  
  
Mecha Shadow instantly pulled out the green Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!" In a flash of light, he had frozen time. Before Scales could follow suit, she screamed as one of her cables severed and Mecha Shadow appeared behind her. The robot hedgehog chuckled. "I so love being able to work outside of time. Chaos-" Scales lashed out with her tail, hitting the android in the chest. He grunted, almost dropping the Emerald. She jumped up and hit him with a Homing Kick, knocking the robot across the room. As Mecha Shadow got up, Scales quickly charged up her attack. She cupped her hands and pointed them at Shadow as he got up. "Serpent Strike!" The green snake shot forward, exploding on contact with Shadow and sending him hurtling into the wall, smashing some cables. He screamed as electricity from the ruptured cables poured into his body. He fell to the ground, panting and smoking. "Pretty good," he wheezed as he got to his feet. "But not good enough. Chaos Control!" He vanished, freezing time. "Chaos Control!" Scales yelled half a second after Mecha Shadow, also freezing time and causing the robot to appear before her. Before the machine could recover from his surprise that she had followed him in coming out of synch with the flow of time, she ran over and bowled him over with a spiked somersault. He groaned and got up, freezing as his own Chaos Control time ran out. Scales whacked him with her tail before time resumed for her as well, adding a little damage to the robot as she returned to the proper flow of time. Mecha Shadow winced a little and launched at her with a Homing Attack. Scales jumped in the air, deflecting her brother's attack. Mecha Shadow somersaulted towards Scales. She jumped over hi, and hit him from behind with her tail. Getting angry, Mecha Shadow started running away. Scales almost followed, then headed for a wall, getting an idea. The robot curled into a ball and rolled towards her in a spindash. Scales waited as the metal spiky ball got closer and closer, then jumped out of the way, causing Mecha Shadow to collide with some more electrical cables and get shocked again. The robot growled. "No more games! Chaos Spear!" A humongous bolt of green lightning shot from the Chaos Emerald, hitting Scales and giving her a taste of electrocution. She screamed and backed away, smoking. Stripes moaned, worried. Mecha Shadow recharged and was ready to fire again. "Chaos Spear!" Scales jumped away in time, causing the lightning bolt to strike and dance across the wall, rupturing more cables and conduits. As Mecha Shadow recharged, Scales hit him with a Homing Kick. Startled, the robot fumbled and dropped the green Emerald. Before he could grab it again, Scales snatched it up and put it away. She grinned. "My turn, brother! Chaos Control!" Time froze. Scales grabbed Mecha Shadow and threw him at a wall. As time unfroze, Scales was able to see the robot crash into a wall and get electrocuted again. He screamed in agony and fell down, hitting the floor. His armor sizzled and sparked before falling apart, revealing Shadow. As the thrill of battle faded, Scales turned sad as she walked over to the prone form of her younger brother. "It looks like being a robot made your combat skills rusty." She said miserably. "I doubt I could have beaten you otherwise." She heard clapping. Stripes yelped, and Scales turned around, seeing a new figure had entered the room through the other door. It was the last of the Demonic Four. "Let me guess. You're the last guy you're boss has left to try and collect my Emeralds?" The monster nodded. "You got it. Name's Beelzebub and I'll be taking your jewels and your life today." He smirked. "I must say, I've been looking forward to fighting you ever since I saw how you beat my brothers. I thought the whole sibling duel was great, but let's see if you put up as good a fight as your brother did when he beat the crap out of me." He unholstered his guns. "I should warn you, I'm much stronger than any of my brothers, so I doubt you'll be beating me anytime soon. Let's get this over with."  
  
Beelzebub  
  
The monster started firing his guns at Scales. Scales started running around Beelzebub, drawing his fire. The bullets kept missing her, hitting and rupturing more cables. After a minute or so of trying to shoot Scales, who was moving in ever-tightening circles towards him, he found he was out of shots. He paused to quickly get another few rounds from one of his jacket's pockets and reload the guns. Scales took the monster's pause as an opportunity to attack and launched at him with a Homing Kick, causing him to not only drop the guns and new bullets he had been feeding the pistols, but also knocking him across the room. He growled and ran towards her, jumping and hurtling at her with a kick. Scales was hit in the jaw by Beelzebub's kick, snapping her head up. She stumbled back, allowing the creature to grab his guns and finish reloading them. He started shooting at Scales just as she had recovered, nearly hitting her. She started running around him again, trying to get him to run out of ammunition. Not about to fall for the same trick twice, Beelzebub waited until she was about to pass him and fired a shot, getting a direct hit on her chest. She flinched and came to a stop. Beelzebub blinked. "Huh? I shoot you in the stomach and all I get is a flinch?" Scales shrugged. "Well, I'm made of stronger stuff than most people." The monster grinned. "What a coincidence. So am I." He suddenly fired a bullet at Stripes. The bullet ricocheted off the bubble and hit the floor harmlessly. "Damn it! What good are guns if you can't hurt things with them?" Angrily, he started firing again. Although a couple of bullets in her body wouldn't hurt too much, a well-placed bullet around her life support system or head would do Scales in. She began her circling run again. Beelzebub kept on shooting, trying to pump as many bullets as he could into the lizard. A few bullets managed to hit her, but the majority of them just further damaged the conduits. When Beelzebub ran out of bullets, he tried to reload quickly and got hit in the chest with a Homing Kick, knocking the weapons from his hands and causing him to fall back. He recovered his balance and punched Scales in the face, giving him time to run over and grab his guns so he could reload them. As Beelzebub started firing again, Scales was tired of the whole circling game. It was good for wasting ammunition, but she was worried a stray bullet or two would hit Shadow. While his hide was as tough as hers, she didn't want him to get a bullet in the head like the last time, he might not survive again. She somersaulted and knocked Beelzebub over, though he still held his guns. When he got up, she hit him with a strong tail whip, knocking him back a few feet. Before he could squeeze off a shot, she then launched into a Homing Kick and hit him squarely in the chest. Beelzebub flew backwards, smashing into some conduits and getting a taste of electricity. He screamed as the electricity rolled over his body, turning the metal parts of his clothes and especially his guns into dangerous objects. The gunpowder in the guns exploded, destroying the weapons and burning the monster's hands. The creature broke free from the wall, his precious jacket severely damaged. Some jolts of static still ran up his body, causing him to twitch now and then. His spiky hair was even worse due to the conduct from the cables, looking nasty. Beelzebub now looked extremely pissed off. "Okay, that's it! You're really going to get it now!" He ran towards Scales, his claws glowing purple. She jumped out of the way of his charge, whipping her tail around to knock Beelzebub over. He flipped off the ground and landed right in front of Scales, his arms raised and ready. "Darkness Claw!" He slashed downward, his claws leaving a trail of purple light, slicing into Scales' flesh. She screamed and backed away, the attack leaving purplish scars on her chest. He grinned and ran towards her, giving a strong punch to her jaw while she was still in shock. He followed that one up with several more, forcing her back with each hit and finally delivering a big kick to her chest, knocking her into the wall. Scales shrieked as the electricity from the damaged conduits went through her life support and body, causing circuitry everywhere to short out. Scales fell from the wall, kneeling and gasping in pain. Beelzebub smirked and strolled over, intending to finish her off while she was weakened. Stripes, desperately thinking of a way to protect his mistress, flew in the monster's face, trying to distract him. Beelzebub scowled and swatted the Chao away. Stripes just flew back, filling Beelzebub's line of sight and yelling loudly. Growling, Beelzebub swatted him away again. As he took another step forward, Stripes flew back again, yelling even louder. Angry, Beelzebub grabbed the Chao's bubble and started shaking it violently, trying to shut Stripes up. The Chao wailed as he was rattled all around in his bubble, screaming for help. Beelzebub grinned, enjoying causing the cute thing fear. That's when he got struck in the face by a clawed foot, knocking him back. Stripes flew back to the revived Scales, cheering. Scales looked kind of bad, but she was obviously not down for the count. As Beelzebub recovered from her kick, Scales snarled and pounced at him, angry that he had tried to hurt her Chao. The monster dodged and spun around, hitting her with his rat tail as she got back up. She grabbed him by the rat tail and spun him around, throwing him into the wall as she let go. Beelzebub screamed as he was electrified again, quickly getting away from the conduits before he could get damaged too badly. Scales smirked. "What's wrong Beelzebub? Don't like a little static?" Beelzebub snarled. "I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do, bitch!" He ran towards her, charging up his special attack again. Scales tensed, getting ready for her move. As Beelzebub was about to slash her with his claws, she jumped, using his head as a springboard and using a Homing Kick to get across the room. Growling, Beelzebub turned around and ran towards Scales, his claws fully charged and ready for slicing. Roaring, he charged at Scales. She didn't move. He kept coming towards her. She didn't move. Beelzebub was almost there, his claws ready to rip into her flesh. Scales still didn't move. Beelzebub started to slash. Scales jumped over Beelzebub's head right as he unleashed the Darkness Claw, causing him to slash into the wall, severing quite a few cables and conduits and getting his claws imbedded in the metal wall. Simply put, he could not move from this spot and was now screaming in excruciating pain as the electricity went all over him. He frantically tried to free himself from the wall, but his claws were in too deep. Wincing at the screams, Scales cupped her hands towards Beelzebub. "Serpent Strike!" The green snake exploded on the back of the jacket, ripping it open and revealing a metal back! The force of the explosion had ripped a hole in this back, exposing vital machinery to the electric current, frying Beelzebub from the inside. The monster, now truly perceived as a robot, writhed in unbelievable pain as the current ripped through his interior. His body thrashed, wracked with small explosions, blowing off chunks of the fake skin covering his metal body. The screams started cracking as the electricity shorted out every system in Beelzebub's body. Finally, the damage was too great, and the robot slumped, dead. Static still played over the prone machine. Scales blinked and looked at Stripes. "Did YOU know he was a robot?" The Chao shook his head. "Oh well. I'm a bit surprised, but I guess that explains why these Demonic Four guys were so damn durable! Come on Stripes, let's see where that door goes." But before they could head for the door, a speaker came on, the voice of the mystery villain blaring out. "Very good Scales, very good. Yes, I know your name, no need to be surprised. I must admit I am very impressed that you managed to kill Beelzebub, my most powerful servant, and found out his true nature and that of the other Demonic Four. They are indeed robots, built to serve me and steal the Chaos Emeralds." Scales grimaced. "Look, I'm sick of all this running around! You've killed way too many people today, monster! Where are you?" The villain laughed. "Oh, but if I told you that, you might have a chance of stopping me. In any case, I can't afford to let you see anything that might be revealing on this ship, so I'll just have to blow it up." Scales and Stripes gasped. "Blow it up?!" "Yes, the explosives should go off in 10...9..." Exchanging a glance with Stripes, Scales started running for Shadow. "7...6..." Scales picked up Shadow and slung him over her shoulder. "4...3..." "CHAOS CONTROL!" Scales yelled, warping away. "1...0." The Snivel Carrier was ripped apart in midair, hundreds of explosions reducing the giant airship to scrap metal, which fell into the ocean below.  
  
How was that chapter? Cool, huh? The secret of the Demonic Four is finally revealed, the Chaos Emeralds are all together, and all four captives have been reclaimed. Of course, it's not over yet, not by a long shot. Scales: hey, aren't we going to do the interview? Me: Huh? Oh, right. Scales, what did you think of this level? Scales: It was finally a challenge for me. The boss battles were radical as well, I'm glad Shadow at least put up a good fight. (Smiles at Stripes.) And I'm happy Stripes helped save my life in the fight with Beelzebub. Stripes: (Coos happily.) Me: Were you surprised that Beelzebub was a robot? Scales: Yeah, I was expecting him to be bioengineered or something. I think I'm lucky to have beaten him, he was really tough! Me: You think he's tough? Wait till you get a look at the final boss. Scales: Can I have a hint? I'm dying to know what I'm going up against! Me: Sorry, no. Scales: Ah, man. Me: As a consolation, how about I give you a gift from our author friends? Scales: What? Me: (Holds up a large bag full of grumbling swindler weasels.) Our good friends Maverick and Ultrafan X gave us a lovely present of all these weasels. They are yours. Do with them as you wish. Scales: (Licking her lips.) Thank you Ultrafan and Maverick! Me: (Tosses bag to Scales. Grabs Stripes and shields his eyes as Scales starts violently consuming the weasels.) Thank you for your patronage, and we'll see you soon. Please review! 


	11. Pyramid of Iron and Steel

Sorry it took so long to get the last chapter and this one up, I have all these dumb school assignments to worry about. How I hate school. Anyway, despite the oppression placed upon me by my obligations to the tenth grade, here is the next part of our ongoing saga. Read on! Disclaimer: Do I have to do this every chapter? Fine. I, Pi2, solemnly swear that I do not own any and all characters owned and created by Sonic Team and Sega, that I only own Scales, Stripes, the Demonic Four, and the mystery villain.  
  
Day 3, 9:00 PM  
  
Scales yawned and walked out of her room, Stripes flying lazily after her. Big was still at work in the living room, trying to find a way to cure the four sleepers and having no success. As yet another attempt at deactivating the nanites blew up in his face, Big started cursing vehemently, until he noticed Scales and Stripes. "Er, sorry for that, I'm just more than a little frustrated that I'm getting nowhere." He said quickly. Scales sighed. "I know how you feel, Professor. I'm probably even more frustrated that I couldn't finish this yesterday. We have got to find that secret base and stop whatever this guy's up to!" "Haven't we already? I mean, you already have all seven Chaos Emeralds." Said Big. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean he has no backup plan. Snively came up with a backup in case he was defeated on the ARK, so the planet would go down with him. This guy may have a contingency plan that will probably involve the destruction of Station Square or something equally bad. If we can't find his base, I can't shut him down." Said Scales angrily. "Well, it looks like now's your chance." Said Robotnik, walking in from his room. "Scales, I've picked up a massive Chaos energy reading in the Mystic Ruins area. Since we have all seven Chaos Emeralds, there's only one thing that could be causing that signature." Scales immediately understood. "The Master Emerald!" Robotnik hesitated. "Well, yes, but the readings are stronger than that of the Master Emerald. In fact, all the energy seems to match the Super Emeralds as well." Scales blinked. "The Super-" She screamed, startling Big and Stripes. "Of course! He never needed the Chaos Emeralds at all, it was just a diversion for him to get the Super Emeralds from our unprotected vault back in San Francisco!" "I'm afraid so," said Robotnik sadly. "Our mystery villain most assuredly has something nefarious in mind for the Emeralds. You'd better hurry and put a stop to his plans before it's too late!" "Where are the readings coming from exactly?" Scales asked. "I've triangulated the readings with help from some satellites and have pinpointed the energy to be coming from a remote area in the Ruins. It looks like some sort of ziggurat, but made of iron or something." Robotnik informed her. Scales nodded. "I'll keep an eye open. Stripes and I will find that jerk and rip him to pieces for his sins! Ready boy?" Stripes chirped affirmatively. "Chaos Control!" They warped away in a flash of green light. "Do you think she can do it?" asked Big from the workbench next to the four unconscious anthropomorphs. "She has to. She's our last hope." Said Robotnik. "No...there is yet another." Said Big. Robotnik blinked. "Really, who?" Big looked sheepish. "Oh, nobody. Sorry, it just seemed like a perfect Star Wars moment, I couldn't resist!"  
  
After several minutes of hacking through the jungle, Scales and Stripes reached their destination. A huge clearing was cut out, a giant metal pyramid made in the style of the ancient echidnas occupying it. Smoke rose from the top. "Whoa, how long has this thing been here?" Scales asked. "I'd say about a year." Said Tikal as she flew up, surprising Scales. "It's only a rough estimate. Anyway, I have a little warning." "What is it?" Scales asked. "We can sense an immense reading of Chaos energy. It's coming from deep underground, meaning the base is larger than this pyramid alone. There are a few levels of defenses you have to go through before you can infiltrate the main stronghold and find whatever's going on. Chaos also says he can detect a great sleeping evil within the base, something of incredible power that has not yet truly been born. Be careful Scales, and good luck. We're all counting on you." Tikal said. Scales nodded. "Thanks for the tip, friend." Tikal bobbed and flew away. Scales looked to Stripes, now safe in his bubble. "What do you say, Stripes? Shall we enter and avenge your family?" Stripes nodded fiercely. "Then let's go!" Scales burst out of the edge of the clearing and ran for the door at the base of the pyramid, expecting to be shot at, or for some alarm to go off. But as they entered the metal ziggurat, nothing happened, not a peep or a siren. In a way, that was kind of worrisome.  
  
Stage 9: Secret Base. Mission: Get to the entrance to the inner stronghold.  
  
Scales walked up a few steps, coming to a small square room. There was a square pool of oil in the middle of the room. She saw a door on her right and went through, going down a couple of stairs and coming to the entrance to a ramp. A Leon suddenly appeared and hit her with its tongue, immediately vanishing. Scales quickly picked the robot up on her sensors and smashed it with her tail before it could hit her again. She went through the door and started running down the ramp. She ran over dash panels and onto a jump plate, hurtling through the air and landing on another ramp. She ran down, going down in a tight spiral, then headed straight and down for a good while. Scales was unnerved by this place, the walls were blank and featureless, all the same. Back on the ARK, the walls looked very nice with cool glowing lights and neat patterns, none of it was dull, monotone steel. Whoever made this place obviously had no taste for interior design. She came to a stop at the bottom of the ramp. Before her was a long round tunnel with several flamethrowers and spiked blocks that popped out of the sides of the tunnel periodically. Hitting a dash panel, Scales started down the tunnel, running up the sides of the tunnel to dodge the flamethrowers and blocks. After a few minutes of dodging fire and blocks, Scales reached the end of the tunnel, dropping to normal ground. She killed a Leon and proceeded through a door. She was now in a really tall and big circular room with several platforms at multiple levels. In the middle of the room was a great pool of oil. A robot snake swam about through the oil. Scales looked around the edge of the pool and saw only one platform at her level. She jumped to the platform and saw a blue, round switch. She stepped on it, and the pool of oil overflowed, the liquid reaching the level of her platform. The snake kept swimming, as if nothing had happened. Scales saw some other platforms she could now reach, but saw no way to get to them. She couldn't swim, and even if she did she was not getting in a pool of oil. When the snake started to pass by her platform, Scales got an idea. She jumped onto the snake's body, using it as a transport across the pool. When she got near a platform after riding the snake almost all the way around the room, she jumped off and saw a square blue switch. She stepped on it. Nothing seemed to happen. She looked around and saw a nearby platform, higher than her current one. She used a jump and Homing Kick to get on the platform, seeing another round blue switch. She stepped on it, and the oil rose again, to her current level. She jumped on the snake when it passed and stayed on as it swam by several platforms, most of which had nasty spikes on them. She jumped off when she saw one with a green square switch. She jumped off at the platform and hit the switch. Like the blue one, nothing seemed to happen. Shrugging, Scales tried to figure out where to go now. She saw another platform somewhat nearby. A rotating spiked bar floated around the end of the platform. Scales walked to the end of the platform and jumped carefully away from the bar, using a Homing Kick to reach the next platform. She jumped from the platform to an adjacent higher one, and hit a blue round switch, raising the oil once more. She jumped on the snake as it passed by and rode it to a large walkway leading to a door. She was disappointed to find the door was locked She looked around and saw another platform to her right. She jumped over to it and almost ran into a row of spikes jutting from the ground. She jumped over the spikes and was suddenly attacked by a Gola. She killed the Gola quickly and jumped over another row of spikes, finding a red square switch. She stepped on it, and the door on the other platform opened. Pleased, she jumped back across the spikes and over the oil, then went through the door. She was at the top of a long, curving ramp. She started running down it, hitting dash panels to increase her speed. After following the ramp all the way down and making a big leap from a jump plate, she landed in a hallway. She followed the hall and turned left, killing a Leon and entering a very dark chamber. There was only one light, and it was over her head, near the door. With the light, Scales could see the room was large and filled with oil. There was a bridge going ahead from her current platform, into the darkness. Only a little ahead of her, in the light, was a mirror. Scales grabbed the mirror and started turning it, shining the light into the darkness, stopping when she saw a glint in the not-too- distant distance, indicating another mirror. With the reflected light, Scales could see more of what was ahead of her. She walked along the bridge before her, killing a Gola when she reached its end. To her right, across a large gap of oil, was the next platform. She was about to step forward when she heard several muffled bangs. Her sharp eyes caught bullets whizzing over the gap. This meant she'd have to time her jump to get across the gap. Scales waited for the gunfire to subside, then jumped over. On the other side, she saw the mirror from before on her right. She grabbed it and turned it around until the reflected light hit another mirror. Thanks to the beam of light, the room was now a little brighter, allowing Scales to see how to get to the next mirror. She walked to the right and jumped to her left, landing on another platform. She went straight ahead and jumped to the next one, which had the mirror on it. She moved it around until it hit another mirror, then started looking for a way to get over there. That's when a Gola attacked! Its spinning flames burned Scales and almost knocked her into the oil. She quickly smashed the robot and went forward, finding a pair of blocks in the oil ahead that slowly rotated. She jumped to the first one and waited for it to rotate to face the second. She jumped to it and used the same method of waiting to jump to the next platform, which had the mirror. She moved it until it hit what could only be the exit, then moved forward along the path. She heard muffled bangs again, and jumped back as bullets whizzed in front of her. She jumped over the area where the guns were firing and was suddenly at the edge of the platform. In front of her was a long chain of Bladed Spinners floating above the oil. Bullets whizzed beneath them. Scales sighed and started Homing Kicking across the robots, staying above the oil and the bullets. She blew up the last robot and landed on the ledge before the door. She entered the door. She took a few steps forward and everything was nice and lit up again. "Ah, good to have proper lighting, isn't it Stripes?" The Chao nodded. Scales continued down the corridor and found a long room with a shallow stream of oil going down it. Wrinkling her nose, Scales looked around for any doors. There were none. Resigned, she jumped into the oil and let it carry her forwards. She started regretting this decision when the stream suddenly went into a cascading fall, dropping her into a large pool of oil at the bottom. She shot to the surface, gasping, oil covering her body. She waded to the edge of the pool and got out, disgusted. She was covered head to toe in oil. Stripes was completely clean. The Chao giggled, and Scales glared at him, grumbling under her breath. There seemed to be no way to clean herself off. Angry, Scales took a step forward and immediately slipped, falling on her back hard. Stripes started laughing. Scales struggled to her feet and tried to figure out how to get rid of the oil. She suddenly got an idea. She curled into a ball and started spinning rapidly, flinging the oil off of her and splattering the walls. When she was finally clean of all oil, she got up and checked herself over. The oil was gone, but its smell remained. She grimaced and headed for the exit to the room, followed by Stripes, who still snickered a little. Scales came into a small, tall room with a high wall blocking her way. She saw a spring at the base of the wall and bounced on it, reaching the top of the wall, which turned out to be a ramp. She started to run down when she heard a rumbling noise. Chancing a look behind her, she saw a hole open in the ceiling, a giant mace dropping into the room and rolling after her. Scales moaned and started running faster, trying to get away from the spiked ball. As Stripes yelled frantically, Scales ran over several dash panels in a row, slowly outdistancing the mace. After a little bit, she saw a jump coming up. She hit the jump plate at the end of the ramp and launched over a chasm, landing on the other side. The mace couldn't jump and rolled over the edge of the ramp, falling into the pit. Wiping away some sweat, Scales continued down the remainder of the ramp, heading through a door at the end. She was now in a large, tall room with several platforms and ledges. There were lots of weird tiles placed on the walls at random spots. Right in front of Scales was a round blue button. Curious, she steeped on it. Several wall tiles moved, lining up to form a straight row. They lit up. Scales went over and touched a tile, wondering what they did. She was suddenly flipped in midair and planted feet-first on the tile!" Whoa, this must be a gravity generator like the drums back on the ARK!" she said. Stripes' halo turned into a question mark. "Never mind, it's not important. Let's head on up." She started walking up the wall, following the tiles. As she did so, bullets shot at her, but she ran to dodge the guns. She reached the top of the row and saw another path of tiles to her left. She turned and followed them, stopping at the end. Beneath her was a ledge with another blue circle button. Scales jumped, falling from the tiles and landing on the ledge. She hit the switch and a horizontal row of tiles came together, leading away and then up from the ledge. She touched the first tile then walked on the wall, moving away from the ledge. When she reached the end of the horizontal row, she moved up, turning left and walking until she went over a corner and then went up again, stopping at a ledge. She jumped to the ledge and saw a blue button at the far end. However, there was a series of spikes on the wall. Due to the protruding platform they were attached to, Scales guessed that they could move. She started running for the switch. As she had predicted, the spiked portion of wall quickly started moving towards her. She reached the end before she could get impaled and stepped on the switch. A row of tiles rushed over, forming a vertical row away from the ledge. She touched the bottom tile and started walking up, turning right at the top and walking forward until she saw a ledge beneath her. She jumped down and killed a Unidus, revealing a hole in the ledge. Scales looked down and saw a large platform beneath her. She jumped down the hole. When she hit the ground, she felt something shift beneath her. She jumped to her right, barely avoiding falling through a trapdoor. She walked to her right, down the platform, past rows of spikes until she saw a raised platform in the middle and near the edge of the ledge, facing a closed door all the way across the room. There was a switch on the platform. Scales jumped up and hit it. Not only did the door open, but also a string of Bladed Spinners flew down from the ceiling. Scales jumped off the edge of the platform and started Homing Kicking across the Spinners, moving over the large space and going through the door, ending the level.  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
Scales saw she was in a small room. An elevator was in front of her. She turned to Stripes. "Well buddy, ready to meet our destiny?" He nodded. The lizard and the Chao entered the elevator, descending to the area deep beneath the metal ziggurat.  
  
Wow, I finished this sooner than I had expected. Cool! Anyway, here's our heroine, Scales! Scales: Hey, how are you all doing? Me: Fine, fine. How about you? Scales: I hated the oil. You realized that level was supposed to be Lost World, right? Me: Yes, but why would you need to go to the real temple in this story? Anyway, we have a few questions from fans. Ready? Scales: Always. Me: First, Ultrafan X. Where are Devil and Angel right now? Scales: They wanted to come to the wedding, really they did, but Nightshade got sick from the Chao version of chickenpox. They had to stay behind to take care of the poor thing. In a way, that's good. Don't want them mixed up in all this craziness. Me: Do you think Stripes and Nightshade would get along? Scales: Let me see. (Looks at Stripes.) Stripes, how old are you? Stripes: (Thinks a minute, then taps his foot ten times.) Scales: Ten years old? Stripes: (Shakes his head.) Scales: Ten months? Stripes: (Nods.) Scales: (turns back to me.) He and Nightshade are the same age. I'm sure they'll get along fine. Me: I think you're right. Oh Maverick, did you mean Magnadramon or MagnaAngemon? I don't recall the first one ever appearing on Digimon. Oh well. I made the Demonic Four robots because I thought it would be a little weird if they were really devils, and since I'm sure everyone expected them to be genetically engineered, it would be a good plot twist if they were robots. And Anonymous Author, I could not possibly have Amy/Tails in this universe. First of all, Amy's now married. Second, Tails already has a girlfriend. Finally, although Amy was only created nine years ago, she's physically and emotionally twenty just like Shadow. So she's way too old for Tails. Sorry if that was a little rude. Anyway, Amy will be fine, you'll see! Just another couple of chapters and it'll be over. Scales: And the reason 75% of reviews are from the same authors is because they really like the story. Me: Anyway, that's pretty much all the time we have. Before we close, I wish to inform you that next chapter, the mystery villain's identity will finally be revealed! Also, I have a few gifts for Scales from you fans. (Tosses a bag of weasels and Beelzebub dolls to Scales) These are from Ultrafan X. The weasels are for you to eat, the dolls are for you and Stripes to rip apart. Scales: Neat! Stripes: (Halo turns to exclamation mark, showing he's excited.) Me: Also, Maverick couldn't get any weasels so he cloned up a pair of raptors and a triceratops for you to eat! (Two confused raptors and a triceratops walk in.) Scales: (Gasps.) But Pi2, I can't eat these guys! Don't you remember the Predator's Code you created that won't appear until my sequel but is still in effect nonetheless? Me: Oh yeah. Sorry, I completely forgot. I'll just put these three in a park and make millions of dollars from public viewing of these prehistoric beasts. Take em' to the Cretaceous habitat with my vegetarian T-rex, boys! (Some burly men lead the confused dinosaurs away.) Okay, that's it. You guys can play with your toys now. Tune in next time!  
  
Scales: (In the process of ripping a Beelzebub doll to shreds.) Don't forget to review! 


	12. The Final Challenge

I'm sorry this is taking so long. Blame school, I had to do around three hours of homework the day I started this chapter. I also realized I made a mistake last chapter, it's 9:00 AM, not PM. I am sorry if I sounded angry last time, and did not realize the dinosaurs were for decorative purposes only. Beebo, I've already said I'm sorry for the Chao. No more Chao will die, I promise. Anyway, here we are at the beginning of the end. In this chapter and regrettably short level, the identity of the mystery villain is finally revealed, and the final battle is set in motion. Read on... Disclaimer: I already told you this last chapter!  
  
Day 3, 12:00 PM  
  
The elevator doors opened on what appeared to be a small station. A single-seater monorail sat in the middle of the room. Scales looked around. "The coast is clear. Shall we?" Stripes nodded. Scales walked across the room and got in the monorail. A seatbelt automatically fastened over her chest, and the train took off. After speeding through a few minutes of blank tunnels, the monorail came to a stop. Scales got out of the seat and saw a door on the wall. A series of five lit buttons were on the floor. As Scales approached the buttons, all but one suddenly switched off. The door closed. Frowning, Scales stepped on the lit button. All the other buttons suddenly went back on, but the one she had stepped on went off. She stepped on another button, and it went off, while all the others went on. Starting to get frustrated, she pushed another button, and the same thing happened. Scales suddenly had an idea right before she tried to smash the buttons to pieces. She stepped on two buttons, pressed two more with her hands, and touched the last one with her tail. They all lit up, and the door opened again. Pleased with herself, Scales walked through the door.  
  
Stage 10: Final Challenge. Mission: Reach the center of the base.  
  
The duo were now in a large, factory-looking place. There was grating in place of a floor and lots of cool machinery all around. Ahead of them were a couple of moving robots with active laser emitters and a spinning double-headed mace that raised and lowered some way ahead. Scales started running forward. She jumped over a laser beam and killed the robot with a Homing Kick. She did the same to the next robot and then ran under the mace when it was raised. She ran forward and was almost bludgeoned by another spinning double mace. She froze and waited for it to rise, then ran underneath it. She came to the end of the current room, in front of a wall with several tiers of curved pipes. Scales started jumping up the pipes, using them as platforms. After nearly getting her feet burned by a pipe with steam flowing through it, Scales discovered the golden pipes were not safe to touch. After getting up the tiers of pipes, Scales climbed up to the next level and was almost crushed by a pair of giant robotic hands. She ducked and somersaulted under the hands. They turned and tried to squash her with a smack. Scales jumped back as a hand hit the ground, then delivered a Homing Kick to the hand's wrist joint, severing it. She did the same to the other hand, then went forward. She crossed a plank over some boiling machines and got to a platform where she was assaulted by several modified egg-shaped servant robots. They were called Snivel Keepers, due to the fact that Snively had used them to tend to his every whim. Some Keepers were outfitted with paralyzing prods in their hands and had lasers. These were obviously the latter. Scales smashed the robots away with a few tail whips, keeping away from their hands. She saw a spring pointing up at an angle at the edge of the platform and bounced off it, landing on a higher platform. She saw a bridge plank ahead and walked across it, going through a door. She was now in a room filled with Bladed Spinners, which all charged at her. She performed Homing Kick after Homing Kick to avoid being sliced by the blades and eventually killed the dangerous robots. The exit was on the right side of the room, guarded by a barrier of laser robots. Scales smashed the robots, eliminating the threat of the laser gate. She passed through the corridor beyond and was now in a huge room with several catwalks over boiling machinery, as well as a number of conveyor belts feeding straight into spiked rollers. Scales walked forward and turned right, then left, following the catwalk. To her right was a conveyor belt. Scales looked around but could see no other way to reach the next platform. Sighing, she jumped on the conveyor belt, knowing she had to time this right. When she started to pass a platform on her left, she jumped off quickly, avoiding a spiky death. She walked down the platform and faced another conveyor belt. She jumped on and jumped to the next conveyor belt, on her left, when she was halfway to the spiked crusher. There was one problem, though. This conveyor was going in the wrong direction from the next platform! Scales started running, trying to get ahead of the belt, slowly making progress and jumping to the catwalk at the end of the conveyor. She turned right and faced another belt. She jumped on and looked for the next catwalk. It was only inches from the crusher. When she was getting very close to getting crushed, she used a Homing Kick to reach the platform and followed it to the door in the room's wall. She was now in a large shaft with a few floating platforms. She started jumping across the platforms, trying to reach the exit door at the other end. She used Homing Kicks on some Bladed Spinners to get across the larger gaps and quickly reached the door. She went through and saw a huge hole in the floor. She jumped down, using her anklets to reduce her falling speed. After dropping for maybe a quarter mile, she reached the bottom. She hit solid ground and saw she was now at the top of a ramp. She started running down the ramp, hitting dash panels to increase her speed. She launched off a jump plate at the end and soared through the air, landing on a floating platform in another, bigger shaft. This platform moved, going towards another platform. It stopped near the beginning of a chain of Bladed Spinners and started back. Scales quickly jumped off the platform and Homing Kicked across the robots, reaching the platform. It rose up, going towards the next chain of Spinners. Before the platform could start moving down, Scales jumped up and started Kicking across the robots, reaching another platform. She proceeded from platform to platform in this fashion, reaching the door at the top of the shaft. She was suddenly falling down a much narrower shaft, hurtling past the exit door and by lots of hovering fans. Scales quickly gained control with her anklets and maneuvered herself over one of the fans. It blew her up, allowing her to get to another fan. She used a boost from her anklets to jump to the fan and floated up on its current, getting close to the next fan. Scales did this several times to climb up the "stairway" of fans and reach the door. A burst from her anklets shot her through the door and to the next room. The room was a huge chamber with a few ledges along the walls and a closed door. At one end of the room was a slot in the wall. The slot opened and suddenly, several magenta robots called Beat started swarming out! Scales ran to a ledge and jumped to its safety as the Beat kept pouring out of the slot, filling up the room. Stripes' halo turned into a question mark. Scales thought a moment, trying to figure out what to do. "I've got it! The good old Light Attack will do the trick!" She curled into a ball and started spinning. Stripes mimicked her. Lights started to race along Scales' body, and then she got up and began to glow. "This is for you, Mother!" she yelled, blasting out and smashing the robots to pieces at the speed of light. Once all the Beat were gone, the door opened. "Come on, let's go!" The lizard and Chao ran through the door and fell into a shaft identical to the last one. They hurtled past the exit and lots of fans before Scales managed to activate her jets and hover over one of the fans. From there, she repeated the process she had used to move up the last shaft and soon reached the exit. She was in a room exactly identical to the last one, right down tot eh Beat that started swarming from a slot. Scales quickly jumped to a ledge and started the Light Attack charge-up. When she was done, she wiped out the Beat in a single swoop and went through the door, falling down another shaft. Using her anklets to immediately maneuver right over the first fan, Scales blew right up to the door and went through, finding herself in-guess what? ANOTHER ROOM FULL OF BEATS! She jumped to a ledge and started charging up AGAIN, then unleashed the Light Attack and killed all the stupid robots AGAIN, then went through the door AGAIN and found herself in...a hallway. That's right, a hallway! Bet you were expecting another fan shaft, right? RIGHT?! Sorry, sorry, I'm feeling a little strange. Let's move on, okay? Anyway, Scales followed the hallway to her right and entered a huge chamber, most of which was a giant chasm. Scales was on a large ledge. She took a step forward, and an army of Bladed Spinners and Snivel Keepers rushed her. She annihilated the robots and saw a very long chain of Bladed Spinners leading across the void. Scales sighed and started her jump, Homing Kicking along the very long string of Spinners and reaching the end of the line after a full minute in the air. She dropped to a large catwalk running sideways towards a large half-column jutting from the wall. Pipes ran from the column into the abyss, and the part the catwalk reached had a huge chrome face of some unidentifiable monster with very sharp teeth. Scales panted for a moment. "Well, that was tough! Not as tough as the run to the Eclipse Cannon, but close!" Stripes made some noises. "Yeah, I'm kind of surprised we made it this far too." She noticed the ominous monster face. "There's nowhere else to go. Do you think this is it?" Stripes moaned a little. "Yeah, I think it's scary too, but we have to see it. Come on." She walked to the face. As she approached, the jaws opened, revealing a tunnel. Scales swallowed, knowing there was no turning back. She entered the tunnel, the mouth closing up behind her.  
  
(STAGE CLEAR.)  
  
Scales came out of the tunnel. They were now in a huge shaft. A double bridge of large decks led across the shaft, leading to a closed door. The upper and lower reaches of the shaft could not be seen. On the opposite side of the bridge were three familiar figures. Scales snarled as she walked onto the bridge. "Well, if it isn't the Demonic Four. Or should I say, the Demonic Three?" Mephistopheles bared his fangs at her. "We're here to take vengeance on you for the death of our brother!" Lucifer nodded. "You may have been able to take out the strongest of us, but I bet that all together we can beat you!" Baal flexed his creepy fingers. "Three on one should do the trick! You'll meet your doom at our hands!" Scales tensed up for battle. "You want a fight? You got it! But I should warn you, I took out your brother, you three metal-heads are pansies compared to him!" Stripes got into a bit of a karate stance, wanting to fight as well. The three demonic robots snickered. Mephistopheles spoke up. "Let's see if you can beat us as a team, girl! Ready brothers? Let's get-" "I don't think that will be necessary." Boomed the voice of the mysterious villain from higher up the shaft. "I've changed my mind. You three failures are worthless to me as minions. It's time for you to join your brother in the scrap heap!" As the three robots protested, a huge green laser beam shot down, incinerating them all in a single blast. Their screams echoed all around the shaft, eventually fading. Scales gaped, then looked up. "Now that was uncalled for! I was going to kill them myself! There's no honor in you killing your own minions!" "See if I care, I just wanted you in top condition for our own fight." Said the villain. "But before I introduce myself, how about a little warm-up?" With that, a huge machine suddenly hovered out of the darkness above. The main body was large and ovular, with a black faceted dome underside. Two long wings grew downward from the sides of the dome, gray with green lights at the end and red jets connecting them to the main ship. The main body was pretty bulky, with red as the primary color scheme. Extending from the front was a big cylindrical device with a green lens, a powerful laser. Two smaller lenses were on the side of the big cannon. At the top of the main body was a large angular fin with a green light at the front tip. Two big red and gray jets were on the sides of the big fin. From the back of the fin, which went over most of the main body, was a huge red thruster. Some smaller thrusters were on the sides of the big one. Below the thruster, attached to the back of the main body, was a long segmented tail with a spike at the top of each segment and one more growing from the end of the last part of the tail. Attached by posts to the sides of the main body were two huge red wheels, each of which had several very big and sharp spikes growing from the sides. A glass cockpit was wedged in between the big laser cannon and the fin. Scales was surprised to see that the figure sitting the cockpit was a robotic version of Snively! "What? You're a mechanical Snively?" She asked. The villain laughed from somewhere up the shaft, indicating that the robot in the deadly machine was not the enemy. "No, that is merely Robo- Snively, a jester I made to mock my old master." "Old master?" Scales asked, shocked. "Just who are you?" The villain laughed again. "I'm not going to tell you that unless you can defeat this reproduction of one of my old master's deadliest creations, the Snivel Viper. I should warn you Scales, it's extremely powerful and hard to damage. And if you fall down the shaft and are for any reason unable to use the Chaos Control to warp out, you'll be killed by the numerous electrified spikes lining the bottom." "What's this all about? What are you doing?" she demanded, trying to avoid the fight with the vicious automaton. "Why should I waste my breath when my jester here is going to kill you? We'll see about educating you if you can defeat the Viper. Good luck!" Robo-Snively started speaking in a boring monotone voice. "Subject- acquired. Initiating-termination-sequence." The Viper started moving towards Scales. "This doesn't look good." She muttered to Stripes.  
  
Snivel Viper  
  
The machine started to fly over Scales, turning towards her. The green lasers lenses on the side of the cannon started to light up. Scales began to run away. "Take-thisssss." Robo-Snively droned, firing lasers at the running lizard, floating down the walkway after her. Scales moved faster, outrunning the Viper. She reached the end of the first bridge and jumped over to the second, running down it as the machine kept chasing her and firing lasers. After Scales made it successfully to the end of the second bridge and jumped back to the first, the Viper stopped. The huge vehicle floated into the gap between the two bridges and lowered, turning so the cockpit was at the same level as Scales was. The cockpit opened and Robo-Snively stood up, shaking his fist weakly at Scales. "Hahahahaha. You- will-never-beat-me. Hahahahaha." Scales eyed him for a minute, then shrugged and delivered Homing Kick straight to Robo-Snively's body. As she flipped back and landed on the bridge, the robot said. "No-way. I-can't- believe-thisssss." He sat down and closed the cockpit. The Snivel Viper flew back up and started powering up the lasers again. Scales started running again. The Viper chased after her, firing lasers. "Take-thisssss." She easily outran the beams. She was almost hit, though, when the Viper suddenly turned a little and shot a beam right ahead of her. It seemed Robo- Snively was getting a little smarter. She jumped over the lasers and started running back towards the machine, jumping over the lasers as he fired them. When she finally got close enough to the machine, the Viper lowered and opened its cockpit. Robo-Snively stood up and started shaking his fist again. "Hahahahaha. You-will-never-beat-me. Hahahahaha." Scales instantly hit him with a Homing Kick. The robot wobbled, said, "No-way. I- can't-believe-thisssss." And closed up the cockpit, taking off again. This time, all three laser lenses started charging up. As Scales began running, Robo-Snively started firing his normal lasers. "Take-thisssss." When she reached the end of the bridge and was about to jump to the next one, he fired the really big laser, almost hitting her. She landed on the bridge and started running even faster as Robo-Snively kept firing his really big laser, trying to vaporize her. Fortunately, his aim stunk, so Scales was able to reach the end of the second bridge and jump back to the first with only a little difficulty. The Viper turned to face her, still charging up the really big laser. Scales quickly jumped to the next platform of the bridge as the Snivel Viper fired the laser, nearly killing her. The machine then hovered towards her and lowered, the cockpit opening up again. As Robo- Snively got up and started shaking his fist, Scales hit him with a Homing Kick before he could even say anything. "No-way. I-can't-believe-thisssss." He sat back down and closed the cockpit, taking the ship back up. He flew out into the shaft, then turned to face Scales. He charged up his big laser cannon and fired. Scales jumped out of the way, but found she wasn't the target. The deck she had been standing on exploded, falling into the abyss. Robo-Snively started to fire again. Scales jumped to the other bridge and saw the deck ahead of the one she had been standing on explode. The Viper turned to face the second panel after that one. Scales blinked, wondering if the robot was really that stupid. She started running down her current bridge, in the opposite direction of the Viper's fire. When she reached the end of the bridge, Robo-Snively stopped shooting out every other deck portion on the other bridge and flew over to the end of the current bridge. "Get-a-load-of-thisssss." He droned, starting to blast out every other deck on this bridge as well. Scales jumped to the other side and ran down the bridge, jumping over every gap and reaching the end right as Robo-Snively reached the end of the other one. The robot turned and started flying closer, firing his big laser and sweeping it over both bridges. When he got close, she jumped over the sweeping beam and ran and jumped back along the bridge. Robo-Snively flew after her, lowered, and started to open his cockpit. Scales ran over and hit the dumb machine with a Homing Kick before he could even shake his fist. "No-way. I-can't-believe-thisssss." He flew back out into the outer reaches of the shaft and turned to face Scales. "Get-a-load-of-thisssss." The giant spiked wheels detached from the flying machine, turned horizontal, and started spinning towards Scales, one behind the other. As the first one was about to impale her on its spikes, she jumped and landed on the top of the wheel, staying on it as it spun back to the Viper. Instead of simply reattaching themselves to the posts, the wheels flew by the Viper, curved behind it, and spun back in their original path. When Scales' wheel flew by the cockpit, she jumped off and delivered a Homing Kick, using another one to get on the other wheel before it could get too far past her. Robo-Snively flailed in his seat. "No-way. I-can't- believe-thisssss." Scales stayed on the wheel and waited patiently as it spun over the bridge, across the shaft, and back towards the Viper. When she passed by, she jumped off and delivered another Homing Kick to the cockpit, rebounding and using another Homing Kick to get on the other wheel as it was passing the cockpit. "No-way. I-can't-believe-thisssss." Scales' stayed on the wheel as it spun past the back of the Viper and returned to the front, providing her with yet another opportunity to attack! She jumped from the wheel and performed yet another Homing Kick to the cockpit, shattering it as she bounced off and kicked to another wheel as it spun by and started heading back for the bridge. "No-way. I-can't-believe- thisssss." Scales rolled her eyes as she stayed on the wheel, looking to Stripes. "Jesus, this guy's annoying! And way too repetitive. Hey, I bet you've been itching to help me fight for a while now, right?" The Chao nodded. "How about on our next pass, you fly into his cockpit and deliver the final blow, okay?" Stripes chirped and nodded more vigorously. The wheels spun over the bridge and across the shaft, turning around and heading back for the Snivel Viper. As they passed the cockpit, Stripes flew away from his mistress, going into the cockpit. Robo-Snively looked at the Chao for a minute, then feebly swatted at him. "Take-thisssss." He droned. Stripes responded with a powerful Chao karate-style kick to the irritating robot's head. Sparks started to fly from the machine's bald dome. "N-n-n-n- n-no-wayyyyyyyyyy. I-I-I-I-I-I-d-d-d-don't-be-be-be-be-be-believe- thissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss." Stripes flew back to Scales as she passed by. They jumped off the wheel as they passed over the bridge, landing on one of the decks. Scales grinned. "Nice job! I think you've done it!" She appeared to be right. The Snivel Viper was trembling and smoking. Robo-Snively's head was spinning. Suddenly, the vessel started to thrust forward at incredible speed, right for Scales and Stripes' deck! "Uh oh." Scales quickly jumped to the closest deck as the Viper smashed into the one they had been standing in, hurtling into the abyss. A moment later, a loud explosion could be heard from below. The two looked up as they heard a clapping noise from above. Something hovered down from the top of the shaft, landing on the ledge with the exit door. It was clearly a robot. He was about three feet tall. He had a chassis that was mostly black, including the legs. His feet looked like cool white and black shoes with a red edge and some yellow-orange thruster jets at the bottom. Yellow, black and red metal rings encircled the robot's ankles. His chest was sort of spherical, with a large circular indent in the middle of its chest, looking like some kind of intake fan. He had chrome shoulder ridges and arms, with a red stripe going down each arm. Metal rings similar to the one on the ankles were around the robot's wrists, followed by a ball joint for a hand with five sharp flexible claws for fingers. A curved black spike came from the robot's rear, like a mockery of a tail. A nozzle that looked like the end of a rocket came from the middle of the robot's back, right in line with the intake on the front. Some more black spikes grew out of the back. The robot's head was a little large, formed to have six long, jagged spines, like quills. Five grew from the sides and top of the head, one from the back, in the middle of the other five. Each black jagged spike had a stripe of red on it. It had two pointy metal ears on the top of its head, separated by space. For a face, it had a chrome mouth and short, sharp needle for a nose. Its eyes were a large, curved piece of Plexiglass with red glowing visual receptors in their depths. The robot cracked a grin, showing sharp teeth. "I am impressed, Scales. You defeated my jester, stupid as he may be. I guess I did expect you to win, but I was surprised you let your own Chao fight for you. How callous." Scales frowned. "Okay, I'm sick of all this. Who are you?" The grin remained. "Who am I? I'm the one you've been fighting all this time. The one who claimed the Snivel Carrier III, rebuilt this base over Snively's old Final Snivel, manufactured the Demonic Four, created the new bioroboticizer and nanite plague that is even now reducing you're friends chances at life. And I am also," he said with a hint of humor, "The one who murdered all those poor, sweet, innocent Chao and laughed it up afterwards." "Stop playing word games! Who are you?!" Scales growled. Stripes was growling as well, wanting a piece of the being that had murdered his family. The robot shrugged and continued. "I am the harbinger of this planet's doom. My name...is Metal Shadow."  
  
Whoa! Bet you weren't expecting THIS plot twist, were you now? In any case, sorry to leave you with this cliffhanger, but that's because the next chapter is the epic double apocalyptic boss battle! I bet you can't wait for it, can you? Anyway, here's Scales! Scales: Pi2, what the hell is going on here? Me: Why, whatever do you mean? Scales: You know what I mean! Who is this Metal Shadow? I'm sure I've heard of him from one of the others before. Me: Why, I'm glad you asked that question! For the benefit of you, Stripes, and the readers, I'll tell you all about Metal Shadow! Scales: Goodie. Me: Metal Shadow was a robotic clone of our favorite hedgehog created by Snively in an attempt to destroy his nemesis. Using a brain scan from a previous encounter, Snively was able to program Metal Shadow with all of the real Shadow's memories and experiences. However, he threw in a few other things to make Metal Shadow a pure evil killing machine. Metal hates everything and everyone organic. He especially hated Snively and of course Shadow. He hated Snively because he was pretty much a fool and a maniac, not to mention organic. The only thing that kept Metal from killing Snively was his obedience programming. He hates Shadow more than anything else because he is the real thing while Metal is just the faker. He hates Shadow so much, he can't even speak his name without stuttering it. Metal wants to kill or roboticize Shadow so that he will be the only real one. Scales: Is that why he used this bioroboticizer thingy on my brother instead of killing him? Me: Yeah. Metal first appeared in Shadow CD, and made other appearances throughout the series, including Shadow and Knuckles and Shadow R. Strangely enough, the only organic he doesn't completely hate is Amy. Scales: Interesting. Me: Yeah, he actually has a little thing for her, but would prefer making a robot duplicate of Amy than have the real thing. Scales: And I'll have to go up against this guy. Is he as strong as Shadow is? Me: Not really. Why do you think he never won a battle against your brother? Scales: But then it'll be an easy battle! Me: No, it'll be pretty tough. But Metal's a pushover compared to the final boss. Scales: And I'll be facing them next chapter? Me: Exactly. Scales: I hope I'm ready for them. Me: Oh, you will be. You will be. YOU WILL BE! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Stripes: (Hits me on the head.) Me: Ow! Sorry. Scales: It's okay. Oh, and a273, we apologize if we sounded rude or angry last chapter. Me: Yeah, I'm sorry if I offended you. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and are ready for the upcoming finale. See you! Scales: Don't forget to review! We need them badly! Me: Yeah, our new dinosaurs need good reviews to survive. (Shows picture of pitiable, hungry-looking dinosaurs, the triceratops and two raptors I got last chapter, and my vegetarian T-rex.) Please, do it for the dinos! 


	13. Ultimate Battle

I hope you're all ready for this! IT'S THE FINAL CHAPTER! After this, Scales Adventure 2 will begin, which will be a serious change from the norm. I can't spoil anything for you, except it's gonna be longer than any of the previous stories in this series. I hope you'll like it, even if the levels will be much different than what you're used to. Anyway, here we go... Disclaimer: I own a lot of stuff not worth going into details about. Let's start this chapter, shall we?  
  
Day 3, 1:00 PM  
  
Scales took a step back involuntarily. "Metal Shadow? I've heard a lot about you! And none of it good." Metal Shadow shrugged. "Like I care. I suppose now is where I am obligated to tell you everything. I did promise to educate you on certain matters if you defeated Robo-Snively. Listen closely, I'm only going to explain this once." He folded his arms. "After my last defeat at the hands of Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shadow, that idiot Snively sealed me away in a capsule and left me in standby mode. A year ago, when he died, my programs automatically rebooted, his control over me gone. Now awake once more, I was free to fulfill my deepest desires, to rid this world of all the sickening organic life on it and erect a metal utopia. I knew that alone I was not nearly strong enough to do this. So I came up with a brilliant scheme while watching news broadcasts and checking online to catch myself up on current events. I recalled how once I used a fragment of the Master Emerald to go Super. The power I received was tremendous, but I could only take so much of it without overloading my circuits. I wondered what would happen if I gained the Master Emerald and all the Supers, and used their power together? Well, I would probably blow up, because I wasn't designed for that kind of energy intake. So I then began construction of a machine that could do what I could not and completely utilize the power of all eight Emeralds, unlocking their true strength and ascending to godhood. I gained control of the remaining Snively Bots in the country and rebuilt his old Final Snivel base, then began construction of my weapon. Only a few months ago, I completed my creation, the Ultimate Artificial Lifeform. But it would have to remain dormant until I possessed the Emeralds required to grant it infinite power. I created the robots you knew as the Demonic Four as a diversion. I had already discovered the Super Emeralds were kept at Eggman Industries, but knew I could never get in with you all on guard. When the wedding of Amy and Sh-sh-sh-sh...the black hedgehog took place, I knew it was time to strike. I sent the Demonic Four to the wedding to make you and everyone else think I was after the Chaos Emeralds, while I sent some other robots to the unguarded laboratory to steal the Supers from the vault. While the Four and your roboticized friends kept you and the good doctors busy, I was able to retrieve the Super Emeralds and put them with the Master Emerald. I then began a lengthy process to combine the Emeralds together, to become one powerful gem. Once Beelzebub died, I knew I had to act quickly, before you could find my base and real plans. I finished my merging process and created a single jewel, the Hyper Emerald. This gemstone is so powerful that it will make the user, my creation, a god. I finished it just as you arrived at my inner sanctum, so I thought I would wait until you arrived to activate my creation and unleash it on you as its first kill." He pulled out the Hyper Emerald, a gem the size of a Chaos Emerald but shimmering with all the colors of the Supers. Scales winced, her Chaos senses picking up incredible energy from the jewel. "I hold it now, the greatest power source ever created. With it I will make the world crumble and build a new one. Nothing, not even you can stop me." Scales smirked. "Oh? Why don't I just try and stop you and we'll see what happens." Metal shrugged. "Do what you want, you'll die anyway." He grinned. "If you really wish to try and stop me, then let's see if you can beat me in a little race to my creation. First one to my robot can do whatever they want with it." Scales nodded. "I'll race you." The door behind Metal opened. "Then catch me if you can!" he yelled, igniting his rockets and racing through the door. "Come on Stripes, let's go!" said Scales, running along the broken bridge. Followed by the Chao, Scales ran through the door.  
  
Metal Shadow  
  
The chamber beyond was yet another shaft, not as big as the last one, but still big. Running ahead of Scales was the start of a long path attached to the walls of the shaft that went straight ahead for a while, then turned sharply right and went down a ramp. It then turned right and went straight again, and became another ramp. This repeated several times, going down the shaft. Metal Shadow was already on the second straightaway. Scales quickly began her run, soon catching up to the rocket-powered fake hedgehog. "If you think I'm going to let you annihilate the Earth, think again!" she yelled at Metal. "I don't think you'll let me, I know you'll fail to stop me!" he yelled back. He boosted his speed, moving ahead a little. She ran after him, speeding up to keep pace with him as they raced down the spiral. Scales launched into a Homing Kick when she caught up with Metal again, causing him to wobble and fall back a bit. He shot forward and rammed into her life support system, knocking her over. He kept going, passing down another ramp as Scales got up. Growling, she ran after the robot, catching up with him again. She launched into another Homing Kick, slowing him down a little. Angry, the machine slashed at her side with his claws, cutting into her flesh. Scales responded by hitting the machine with her tail, knocking him into the wall of the shaft. He grunted and tried to ram into her life support again. Stripes slammed into his face, surprising the evil machine and allowing Scales to gain a little more distance. Stripes stuck his tongue out at Metal. Getting angry, the robot caught up to Scales and hit her with his own Homing Attack. She retaliated with one of her own, but by now Metal had activated his Black Shield, protected him from her Homing Kick. Scales slowed down, allowing the robot to race ahead. She stopped, waiting for Metal to attack. A few seconds later, the fake hedgehog turned around. Hatches opened up all over his body, revealing several dozen rockets. "Mecha Barrage!" The missiles rocketed from their silos, streaking towards Scales. "Chaos Control!" Time froze, allowing Scales to run past the missiles and hit Metal with a Homing Kick while his Shield was down. Time restarted, and Metal almost fell to the ground, his missiles exploding harmlessly. Scales ran past the robot, heading down another ramp. Metal got back up and sped after her, soon catching up. He tried a Homing Attack, but she jumped and deflected it. He rammed into her side, knocking her off the edge of the path. He chuckled and kept going. However, he had actually given Scales an advantage. As the tiers of the path shot past her, Scales grabbed the edge of a lower ramp with her arm, pulling herself up. She was now at a lower level than Metal and closer to reaching the end. "Hah ha!" She yelled up at the fuming metal hedgehog before continuing her run. Metal jumped off the edge of the path and flew down to Scales' level, cutting her off and going down a ramp before her. "Hey, no fair cheating!" Metal ignored her and kept flying down the spiral. She growled and kept going. She caught up with the metal hedgehog and tried to pass him. He responded by cutting into her side with his sharp claws. She retaliated by grabbing his right arm and ripping it off at the shoulder, throwing it down the shaft. She smirked and sped up as Metal screamed in pain. "Aaaaaaaagh! Why was I made to feel pain?!" he yelled. "Blame Snively!" Scales yelled, already a level or two lower than the robot. Metal ground his metal teeth, recovering from the pain, and rocketed off the path and down the shaft, cutting Scales off and going down the next ramp. Scales slowed down a little, waiting for Metal to attack. After a few seconds, he turned around. Hatches opened over his body again. Scales started running towards him. "Mecha Barrage!" As the missiles streamed for Scales, she jumped in the air and Homing Kicked above the missiles, dropping to the ground and running for Metal Shadow. Before he could move, she hit him with her tail and ran past him. The robot wobbled a little, but righted himself and flew after her. When he tried to ram headfirst into her life support, Scales jumped up, dropping right on top of the metal hedgehog's head. She grabbed his ears and steered him towards a wall, jumping off before he slammed into it hard, leaving a dent shaped like his face. Scales and Stripes laughed, before continuing the run. Metal pulled his face from the wall and was about to chase after the lizard when he got a better idea. He reloaded his missiles and opened the launch hatches. "Mecha Barrage!" The missiles rocketed for Scales, hitting her in the back and exploding. She screamed and fell over, her Emerald dome cracked a little. Metal cackled and flew forward, going past Scales. He didn't get far, as Stripes shot in front of him and delivered a karate kick right between the robot's twin visual receptors, cracking the plastic. Metal growled and slashed at the Chao, his claws bouncing off the little guy's bubble. Stripes kicked Metal in the head again, actually cracking his metal chassis. The robot grabbed Stripes' bubble and hurled it at the wall. The Chao bounced off the wall and hurtled right into the machine's intake. "Ah! No!" The intake blocked, his rocket booster spurted and went out, dropping him to the ground. His engines whirred and whined, trying to suck in air. Metal frantically tried to pull Stripes from the intake, but with one hand, he wasn't getting anywhere. He was so distracted trying to fix the problem, he didn't hear Scales get up, groan a little, and walk over. She tapped the robot's left shoulder. Metal turned around and got a tremendous kick in the face, severely cracking his eye cover and smashing him into the wall of the shaft, making another dent. She pulled Stripes from the robot's intake, restarting the rocket booster. Since its end was currently stuck in the wall, it overloaded and sent a screaming Metal hurtling away from the wall and all the way across the shaft, imbedding himself in the wall on the other side. Scales grinned and turned to Stripes. "Did you try to fight him all by yourself?" Her Chao nodded. "Wow, you're a brave little fellow aren't you?" She petted him on the head. He squirmed and giggled. Scales turned her head and looked at Metal, who was currently trying to pull his face from the wall. "I don't believe this. Shadow made it sound like this faker was the most dangerous robot Snively had ever created, one that almost killed him on several occasions. And here I am, kicking his ass easily! Guess they don't make robots like they used to, huh?" Stripes nodded. "Come on, let's get as far as we can before he recovers." Scales started running as fast as she could, dashing down the walkways and ramps, hearing Metal Shadow rip himself from the wall higher up the shaft and start rocketing after her. She could hear the roar from his afterburners getting closer and closer. She rounded the corner and ran down another ramp, seeing the walkway ahead ending at the wall of the shaft, a door facing her. She ran for the door, passing through it and just missing another Mecha Barrage. She slammed the door shut, hoping it would delay Metal a little bit. She looked around the room. When she and Stripes saw what was in the chamber, both their jaws dropped in amazement. The room was a large cylindrical chamber, with a dozen doors on different levels of the room. In the center was a big capsule with a control panel next to it. Inside the capsule was a monstrous figure, clearly the robot Metal Shadow had created. The machine was eight feet tall and seemed to have black synthetic skin. It was semi-humanoid, but looked more like some kind of reptile. It had two legs ending in feet with three great claws each. Encircling the lower legs were a pair of chrome thrusters with red jets and yellow stripes running up the sides. A large metal plate with a pale orange stripe hung down between the machine's legs, as if there were a groin to protect. A pair of smaller plates hung over the monster's thighs. The beast's torso was protected by a series of thick breastplates with yellow patches on them. Each had yellow cables coming out of the ends that went into the false skin. There was a large hole in the armor plating around where the belly button would be, looking for all the world like Metal's intake. The creature's shoulders were protected by two chrome half-bowls, a pair of cables connecting each one to the uppermost breastplate. The upper arms were unprotected, but one could see just by looking at the bulging muscles on the synthetic skin how strong the robot was. The lower arms were completely encased in large, smooth chrome gauntlets without fingers or hands. The gauntlets were featureless, looking like they were designed as hammers more than anything else. The machine had a large black pentagonal shield attached to its back, a symbol looking like a sun with jagged rays etched in yellow ink on the shield's center. The robot's neck was covered in chrome plating, yellow cables running along them to the head. The head of the machine was completely covered. It was a chrome helmet with a long front indicating the creature's reptilian nose, if it had one that is. Metal fangs curved down from the upper part of the robot's head. Three horns were on the helmet, one on the nose and two growing from the sides of the creature's head. The back of the helmet was open, a short cop of yellow hair growing out. There were two eyeholes in the helmet, both of which were darkened. Scales couldn't help feeling a little scared. Even though she knew the thing was not on, she felt like it was sleeping, waiting to wake up. She could sense an aura of unbelievable malice exuding from the robot's skin. Stripes shivered and clutched Scales. She shook herself out of her fear-induced trance, she had no time to admire this monstrosity! She had to destroy it before it could be unleashed upon the world! She started to get into a fighter's stance when the door exploded. An irate Metal Shadow walked in. Before Scales could do anything, the robot raised his left arm. "Program Pause!" Scales and the Chao were suddenly frozen, unable to move at all. Metal chuckled. "Ah yes, the good old time freeze technique. Works every time." He strode past the immobilized Scales, smirking as her eyes glared at him with unbridled hatred. "You don't have to worry, Scales, the effect is only temporary. Of course, you'll be dead before it wears off." He went to the control panel and started pressing a few buttons. The capsule slid open. He pressed another button, and the robot's eyes lit up, yellow with tinges of black in the iris. The monster took a few, experimental steps forward. The machine looked down at the metal hedgehog. "What is your bidding, my master?" Metal grinned, his plans finally coming to fruition. "Mecha Bot VI, your mission should already be programmed into your memory banks. Please review and state your mission." (By the way, the Mecha Bots in this universe were Silver Shadow, Metal Shadow, Pseudo Shadow, Robo Knuckles, and the (shudder) Amy Doll experiment. Of all of these, only Metal survived Shadow and no, he did not like Amy Doll at all. She was too creepy for his tastes.) The robot paused for a moment, then said. "My mission is to wipe out all organic life forms and plant seeds to begin a global roboticization process, turning the entire Earth into a single orb of metal." Metal Shadow nodded. "Exactly. Now, what are these things standing before you?" The Mecha Bot answered instantly. "A peculiar cybernetic lizard and a Chao. Organics." "Correct. You may eliminate this lizard, but first, I have a little birthday present for you." The evil fake hedgehog pulled out the Hyper Emerald. "Take this jewel, my creation, and achieve your ultimate destiny." Metal slammed the Emerald into the socket on the robot's chest. The transformation was instantaneous. The Emerald pulsed, and the massive robot was engulfed in red light. When it faded, he was changed. The metal monster was now a hulking nine feet tall. He was surrounded by a blood-red aura. His armor was thicker, the faces of laughing demons carved into the plates. All the chrome armor had become a shining gold. A large spike grew from each shoulder guard, a yellow stripe running around each one. His claw toes were longer and sharper. The thrusters on his legs were larger and looked like they could produce more speed. The black flesh that could be seen was bulging, more muscular than before. The shield on the back had split right down the middle, angling off and looking a tiny bit like a half- opened beetle shell. The metal gauntlets on his arms were now streaked with yellow stripes. Three long, sharp claws came from the ends of the gauntlets. The horns and fangs on the helmet were longer and sharper, and the yellow hair was half an inch longer. His eyes had turned from yellow and black to yellow and red. The artificial deity flexed his arms, impressed. "Amazing. This power is unbelievable. I feel stronger than anything ever before me." Metal nodded. "Of course you are. You now possess the combined powers of all seven Super Emeralds and the Master Emerald. You are a god. How does it feel to be the first being to ever ascend to godhood on their own?" "Incredible! I feel like I could destroy all life on Earth!" the machine replied. "And so you shall. And now I may name you, my creation. You are now Satan, the Ultimate Artificial Lifeform! Begin your reign of destruction by killing this lizard and Chao who dared prevent me from awakening you!" Metal said, pointing to the frozen Scales and Stripes. Satan nodded. "Of course, Master. But first..." He turned abruptly, driving his claws right through Metal's chest, skewering him. He raised the hedgehog in the air and threw him at the wall, causing the heavily damaged machine to smash into it hard. Oil oozed from the wounds inflicted by the claws. "Wh-why..." Metal rasped. Satan sneered. "Because you are weak. You are not fit to lord over me or any other machine for that matter. Only I can do that." "No...I created you..." Metal wheezed. Satan nodded. "And I destroyed you. Ironic, isn't it? Tell my namesake that he's going to be getting a lot of new residents when you get to Hell, would you?" Metal's eyes dimmed. "You...bastard..." His eyes went out. The robot hedgehog slumped over, dead once again. Satan looked at Scales, who was starting to come out of the Program Pause. "Now, to claim my first organic kill." He flew into the air, poised above the capsule he had slept in. Turning to point downward, he shot at the capsule, smashing it and slamming his claws into the floor. A shockwave rocked the room. The floor caved in, and everything fell down a deep natural well, out of sight. Satan laughed and rocketed upwards, smashing through the ceiling. He blasted through floor after floor of the base, erupting out of the top of the pyramid and in the fresh air. He shielded his receptors for a moment, not used to the sun's light. Once he adjusted to the light, he looked around and snorted at the jungle. "How disgusting. So much life here, where it doesn't deserve to grow. I should burn it all down now." He looked into the distance. "But I sense a greater concentration of life only a few miles away. I believe I will wipe that out first." With a burst from his thrusters, he headed for the city of Station Square.  
  
Scales opened her eyes. She was underwater, suspended in a bubble. Stripes blinked, waking up as well. "Where are we?" Stripes shrugged. Scales blinked, suddenly remembering everything that had just happened. "Satan! We have to stop him!" She frowned. "But how? Not even my Super form can take on a god." She sighed. "What the heck is going on here, anyway? What's with the bubble?" Tikal's light flew through the water, going through the bubble and floating before Scales. "We saved you." She said. Two green orbs and a pink orb appeared on the surface of the bubble. "You're at the bottom of the well Satan opened up. We sensed you were in danger and rushed over to get you before you or Stripes could drown." Chaos explained. "Oh." Scales looked up. "Would you happen to know how I can beat Satan, by any chance?" "Actually, yes." Said Chaos. "Listen carefully." Said Tikal. "Long ago, before time itself began, there was nothing but infinite darkness." Chaos picked up the thread of the story. "When my mother emerged from the void, she was comprised of darkness but also of a previously unknown element, light." Tikal continued. "The Goddess of Infinity's light pierced the darkness, allowing her to make room for all creation." "She created other beings like herself, fashioned of light and darkness, to help her in creating everything." "Combining their powers, the gods created the Time Stream, allowing them to begin forging the universe." "The infinite universes and dimensions were all wrapped inside the time stream, the darkness sealed off from the rest of Creation." "The gods all derived half of their powers from the ancient darkness, and half of it from the new light, allowing them a balanced spirit." "The power of the infinite darkness itself is just as strong, if not stronger, than that of the light." Scales blinked. "What does this have to do with me?" The two kept going, in the same pattern as before. "The artificial life form Satan is now a god." "The only way to counter a deity's power is with another deity." "But Satan is stronger than Chaos ever was, due to the combined power of the eight replicated Emeralds." Said Tikal. "So to defeat Satan, one would have to ascend to the deity level by utilizing the power of the eight original Emeralds and that of the darkness." Said Chaos. Scales got it. "I need to use the eight Emeralds together, then? Become more than Super?" The two nodded, then kept speaking. "But there is a risk in the process that will awaken the power, Scales." "You will have to draw on the infinite darkness for the strength to become a god yourself. But there is a danger in doing this." "There is a chance that when you summon the power of the ancient darkness, you will be consumed by it, and turn twisted, like the real Satan." "If that happens, then nothing short of my mother could stop either you or Satan, and she does not usually meddle in mortal affairs." "You must be fully aware that if you fail to control the transformation, you will become even more dangerous than the robot who bears the devil's name and blessing." "Do you accept the risk, Destined One? Do you choose to try this transformation, to ascend to true divinity for a time, to stop this great evil?" Scales thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. I accept the risk and the consequences that might occur. If it is the only way to stop Satan, I will become a god." Tikal bobbed. "We hoped you would decide to do this. Can I please take Stripes? The transformation does not apply to him, and it could be hazardous for him to be near you during the ascension to deity status." Scales nodded and mentally dispelled the bubble shield, freeing Stripes from her body. "Go on Stripes, I'll be fine. Tikal here will take you to safety." The Chao hesitated for a moment, then glomped her. After hugging her for a few moments, Stripes flew over to Tikal. She flashed, and they both disappeared. Scales turned to Chaos' face. "So, how do we do this?" Chaos pushed himself further from the wall formed of his body, only a few inches away from Scales' face. "You must say a prayer to activate the seven Chaos Emeralds and the true Master Emerald. You can say this prayer again anytime after this first time and become a god again, but it would be best if you only did it in extreme danger. Are you ready?" Scales nodded. "Then begin by repeating after me. The Servers are the seven Chaos." "The Servers are the seven Chaos." Scales recited. "The Controller unifies the Servers." "The Controller unifies the Servers." "Chaos is Power enriched by the Heart." "Chaos is Power enriched by the Heart." The black Emerald started to glow, well, black. The other seven Chaos Emeralds floated from Scales' dimensional pocket and started circling her, glowing. Chaos nodded, pleased. "The next step you can find for yourself. The Master Emerald will guide you in this, finishing the prayer." Scales looked at Chaos, confused. "What do you mean-" She stopped. "Hey! Something's telling me to say something!" "That is what I was talking about. Speak the words being told to you by the Master Emerald to use the power of my mother, and of the darkness." Chaos said. Scales closed her eyes, concentrating. "By the golden power from the darkness..." Images of her friends and family flashed through her mind. "The might of true Darkness will set me free..." In her mind, she saw her mother, looking proud of her. She saw Stripes, cooing and hugging her. "The power of Darkness, piercing those who oppose it..." Many villains flickered through her mind; the GUN agents who tortured and imprisoned her, Snively, Metal Shadow, and Satan. "And through me the Darkness acts. I am its agent..." Her eyes flew open, glowing brightly. "I AM THE DARKNESS!"  
  
Satan laughed as he rampaged through Station Square, leaving a trail of desolation behind him. As screaming townspeople ran away from the flying monster, he called down to them. "That's right fools, run from me! It'll just make it easier for me to hunt you down and run you through!" His claws glowed, and he slashed them, sending six laser blades down to the streets, slicing through cars, buildings, and people. Police cars pulled up, the cops leaning out their windows and firing bullets and rockets at the robot. Satan held his arms out. The projectiles stopped in midair, turned around, and shot back to the cop cars, blowing them up. That annoyance out of the way, Satan held his arms in the air, putting his clawed gauntlets together. He started spinning, turning into a red blur. He turned down and spun towards the street, drilling through the pavement. A moment later, a nearby skyscraper crumbled and shot upward, held from the bottom by Satan, who had burrowed beneath the building's foundations and ripped it out. Carrying the skyscraper with almost no effort, Satan flew around, looking for a target. He saw that most of the people in Station Square were trying to get to the docks and escape on ships. He would just have to head them off, then. He flew to the harbor and waited for the townspeople to show up. The giant crowd stopped as they got out of the street, gawking at the suspended skyscraper right above them. Then they screamed and started running back. Satan didn't plan to let them. Flying high above the crowd, he threw the skyscraper down at the mass of people, intending to crush them all. The people screamed some more as the skyscraper dropped towards them. They tried to scatter, but it seemed that the falling skyscraper would smash the majority of the citizens. Just as the building was about to touch ground, something smashed into it, sending it hurtling away from the city, falling into the ocean. Satan roared in anger. "WHAT!? Who dares prevent my erasure of life?!" The thing that had just saved the lives of hundreds of people flew up from the streets, coming up to Satan. The robot's eyes widened. "Impossible! I killed you!" "Perhaps you didn't kill me as well as you thought." Scales said. For indeed, it was Scales. Or should I say, a deified Scales! She had transformed greatly thanks to the eight Emeralds and the Ancient Darkness. She was enshrouded by an aura of pure white light. Her scales had turned from red-orange to jet-black. Her battle blades were out, but instead of being curved, they were now silvery straight spikes. Her talons had grown sharper and more curved. Her tail was a little longer, with a veritable mace at the end. A pair of great black dragon wings grew from her back. Her jet anklets had gotten a little larger and were now encrusted with jewels. She was still slender, but more muscular. A pair of ridges grew out of her shoulders. Her bracelets had changed severely, becoming a pair of huge gauntlets with three nasty talons on each gauntlet in lieu of fingers. Her life support dome's crack had healed, and was now a burnished gold instead of red. The true Master Emerald glowed a deep black in its setting. Seven jewel beads, each with the color of a Chaos Emerald, were imbedded in the flesh around the dome, forming a circle. Her cables were gone, making room for the dragon wings. Her teeth were slightly longer and sharper. Her eyes had gone from yellow to a shining white, symbolizing the light within and without the darkness that was her body. She was now Omniscales, Goddess of Destruction. "My name is Omniscales, and I'll be dismantling you today." She said. Satan blinked, recovering from his momentary awe. "I don't know or care how you became a god like me, but I'm not letting you spoil my fun! Get out of my way and allow me to finish what I've started, or I'll hurt you so badly you'll wish you had never been conceived." Omniscales bristled. "I was never conceived, dumbass! I was made, like you!" Satan shrugged. "Whatever. Now are you getting out of my way, or will I have to kill you?" "You'll have to kill me before you murder any more innocent lives, Satan. Your short life ends now!" she yelled. Satan chuckled. "Fine. You want to mess with me? That's all right with this robot. Where do you want to fight?" Omniscales gestured out to sea. "Over the ocean, where nobody can get hurt by our battle." Satan feigned disappointment. "Ah, and I was so looking forward to bludgeoning people to death with your carcass rather than let it get eaten by fish! Oh well, let's get going." He flew away, out into the sea. The divine lizard followed, stopping when Satan halted near one of the small uninhabited islands off of Station Square's coast. They faced each other, readying for battle. Satan spoke up. "You know, I have to say I'm looking forward to this fight. I can sense you are almost as strong as I am. You may be a truly worthy opponent." "Same to you, buster. Are we going to waste time exchanging banter or start this thing?" Omniscales growled. Satan laughed. "I was only trying to give you a few extra seconds of life, but if you're so eager to die, I'll make this quick. Here I come!" He started flying towards her.  
  
SATAN  
  
As Satan shot at her, Omniscales quickly determined her foe's weak spot. He was getting his power from the Hyper Emerald, so she had to destroy it. It wouldn't be easy, though. Powering up, she rocketed straight for Satan. The two flew towards one another, neither one planning on getting out of the other's way. Just as they were about to collide, Omniscales flipped in midair, pointing her feet at Satan's oncoming skull. She flew forward in a Homing Kick, smashing into the robot's face and knocking him back a few feet, stopping his charge. Omniscales tried to land a Homing Kick on the Hyper Emerald in Satan's chest, but the evil machine quickly blocked her attack with his claw gauntlets. He slashed at her as she bounced away, ripping into her black skin. She winced, the pain not nearly as bad as it would have been if she were normal Scales. She shot out with a punch from her talon gauntlets, only to be blocked again by Satan. She tried again and again to break his block, but no matter where she aimed her punches or kicks, the robot kept his guard up. She backed off a little, and Satan broke his block, sending out a laser slash. She swiped at it with one of her gauntlets, knocking it away and cutting a mountain on a nearby island in half. He fired off another laser slash. Omniscales attacked with one of her own, countering and diffusing the other laser in midair. Satan rocketed towards her at full speed, claws out. She quickly put up her gauntlets, blocking his charge. Unfortunately, he kept pushing forward, moving her back. He kept pushing and pushing, trying to drive Omniscales down into the sea. She knew where Satan was trying to make her go, but could see no other option. Satan had stronger thrusters than she did, he had a more powerful charge. Getting a thought, she swung her talons out, breaking her block and knocking Satan away from her. He shot towards her again. She flew above him and came down with a Homing Kick, rebounding off his shield and almost redirecting Satan's flight path into a different mountain. He spun around, stopping his charge. He was not expecting Omniscales to be shooting at him with a Homing Kick, delivering a blow to his Emerald before he could block her. A tiny crack appeared on the gem's surface. Angry, Satan lashed out with a laser slash, cutting Omniscales. She winced and threw out her own laser slash, only to see it blocked by Satan's gauntlets. She backed off, trying to think of a way to gain another opportunity at the Hyper Emerald. Satan put down his guard and rocketed for Omniscales. She flew out of the way of his charge, then sped for one of the islands. The demonic robot turned and gave pursuit, pushing his thrusters to their maximum. She flew close to the surface of the water and over the beach, going into the small forest on the island, swerving through the trees. Satan followed suit, smashing through the trees instead of going around them. Omniscales stopped up ahead, seeing a perfect trap. She floated in place, waiting for her enemy to appear. As he smashed out of the trees, Omniscales darted out of the way of Satan's charge. Satan shot past her and slammed headfirst into a big rock that was right in the middle of the trees. He wobbled back, stunned. Omniscales charged forward and punched the Emerald. Another crack appeared in it. Satan growled and slashed at her, barely nicking her chest as she jumped away. She flew up, away from the robot. He flew after her, giving pursuit. Once in the air, Satan decided charging blindly at the lizard would do no good. He pulled the shield off his back, pushed the split parts together, and threw it at Omniscales. The shield whirled through the air, spinning for the heroine. Omniscales quickly got out of the way of the shield. She smirked at Satan, and was hit from behind when the shield spun back at her like a boomerang. She gasped, for the shield hat hit her in her life support system, which was still vulnerable despite her godhood. The shield whirled away, then spun back at her. Omniscales faced the boomerang shield and blocked, deflecting the dangerous object. As the shield spun away again, she screamed as Satan slashed into her back while she hadn't been looking. She turned to face him as the shield started heading back. She raised her gauntlets, as if to block the robot's blow. As Satan was about to slash at her, she dived from his claws. Satan was confused for a moment, until he saw his own shield flying towards him. Before he could block, it slammed into his Hyper Emerald, causing another crack. Satan growled and grabbed the shield as it came back, putting it back in its place. He looked down and saw Omniscales waiting for him below, hovering over the water's surface. He shot down, claws first. She waited until he was about to drive his claws into her brain, then moved out of the way, causing Satan to dive into the ocean. She quickly flew away as the irate robot erupted from the surface of the sea and came after her, leaving tidal waves in his wake. Omniscales flew faster, trying to outrun the automaton. She zigged and zagged, looking like she was trying to throw her enemy off. But of course Satan was able to easily keep track of her and drew closer and closer. Seeing something useful up ahead, Omniscales started to slow down a little. As Satan closed in, taking it as a sign of weakness, she suddenly flew up and over the object she had been heading towards. Satan's eyes widened and he tried to stop, but was moving too fast. He smashed into the large rocky outcropping sticking out of the water, hitting it with enough force to smash through the stone and out the other side, where Scales was waiting for him. She lashed out with her mace tail while Satan was stunned from his collision with the rock, striking the Hyper Emerald and causing it to crack again. Satan roared in anger and thrusted his claws forward, piercing Omniscales' flesh. She screamed as the metal blades impaled her, leaving wounds that could be felt even in her current form. Satan withdrew his claws, snickering. Quickly fighting off the pain, Omniscales lashed out with a kick, only to have Satan block it. She did not want to have to waste blows on the monster, so she withdrew, keeping her guard up. Satan approached her slowly, his guard also up. They both circled each other, eyeing one another. After a moment of stare down, Omniscales made the first move, flying far back and hurling rapid-fire energy balls at Satan. He slashed and punched dozens of times as he flew towards Omniscales, deflecting the energy balls into the sea and causing waterspouts from the blasts. As Satan got closer, Omniscales gave up the barrage and started fleeing from the metal monstrosity. The devil robot kept coming closer, wanting to rip the lizard that was pestering him so much to pieces. He was so focused on chasing her across the ocean's surface that he didn't see he was being led in a circle. In fact, when Omniscales flew up and over the same rock as before, Satan realized too late that he had been tricked. He smashed headfirst through the rock again, coming out on the other side and flying right into Omniscales' claws. She delivered a powerful uppercut to his chin, knocking his head back and allowing her to slash at the Hyper Emerald, giving it another crack in its surface. She flew away as Satan recovered, knowing that she was only making him angrier and angrier. Satan flew after her, furious. She flew higher into the air, figuring Satan wouldn't fall for the rock trick again. As she got higher and higher, she threw more energy balls at the robot, trying to slow him down a little. It didn't work. Satan just kept coming, deflecting all the balls she threw at him. Giving up that strategy, Omniscales just kept flying away, occasionally throwing back an energy ball or two. Satan started spinning, turning into a red drill spin like when he had grabbed the skyscraper from underground. Screwing through the air, the robot began getting closer to his quarry. Desperate, Omniscales flew towards a small mountain on one of the islands. As she was about to hit the mountain, she flew out of the way at the last second, causing Satan to impact the peak. Of course, this was bad since he was in drill mode. He simply started burrowing through the mountain, going down, deep beneath the mountain according to her sensors. Omniscales blinked. What was he doing? That's when the mountain crumbled and rose to the air, Satan lifting it out of the ground. Her eyes widened. She turned and started flying away as fast as she could. Satan cackled as she flew away, trying to put some distance between herself and the mountain. Satan waited until she was far enough away, then hurled the entire mountain at her. Little did he know this was playing right into her claws. Omniscales spun around in the air and grabbed the tip of the mountain before it could hit her, stopping its flight. As Satan realized what she was doing, Scales wound up and threw the mountain right back at him. She then flew after the mountain at maximum speed, starting a drill spin. Satan quickly caught the mountain as it was about to strike him, only getting shoved back a few feet in the air. As he was about to throw the mountain again, Omniscales, who had been burrowing through the mountain before it had even reached Satan, erupted out of the base, slamming both talon gauntlets into the Hyper Emerald, causing even more cracks. Satan cursed and dropped the mountain so he could attack Omniscales. She grinned at him and flew away before he could hurt her. Satan's eyes narrowed and he chased after her, his rage fueling his thrusters to even greater speed. Omniscales started preparing for her move, knowing she would have to be quick. Deciding to make Satan angrier to heighten her chances, she started weaving back and forth across his line of vision, acting like she was leading him right into another rock or mountain trap. As he sped up, watching where she was going towards, she made a few halfhearted passes by some outcroppings or rocks to make it seem this was her plan. When she could clearly see the glowing monster out of the corner of her eye, it was time. Stopping abruptly, she yelled, "Chaos Control!" She warped away in a flash of green light right as Satan was about to tear through her. Shocked, the robot stopped in the air, looking around. "Where did she go?" "I'm right behind you!" Omniscales yelled. Satan turned around and saw she was only a few feet away, her hands cupped and pointing at him. Before he could make a move, she shouted, "Super Serpent Strike!" A giant cobra formed of green Chaos energy manifested in the air, shooting for Satan before he could get his claws up. It exploded on contact with his body, not only severely cracking the Emerald but also damaging his armor somewhat. Omniscales knew, of course, that Satan was really pissed now. She started to fly away, expecting to be chased after. Instead, the evil robot narrowed his eyes and held his gauntlets close together, concentrating. By the time Omniscales realized she wasn't being followed, she was near a mountain on another island. She turned around and saw Satan not too far away, his special attack fully charged. He held between his gauntlets a pulsing orb of red, yellow, and black energy. Some rings and particles orbited the sphere, making it look like an atom. Satan raised his gauntlets into the air, spreading them out. The atom ball grew bigger and bigger. Omniscales suddenly realized she was in deep trouble. "NUCLEAR DESTROYER!" Satan screamed, hurling the orb. She tried to fly away, but the ball was too big and too fast. Its massive energy field drove her into the side of the mountain, preventing her from fleeing as the ball hit the mountain. There was a huge nuclear explosion, a giant mushroom cloud rising to the sky in a pillar of fire as a shockwave raced out for miles, shattering windows and causing huge tidal waves. As the mushroom cloud finally faded away, it revealed that the mountain and island were all but obliterated. Where the mountain had been was a huge crater. Omniscales was lying in the middle of the crater, looking extremely hurt. "Ow." She whispered. She looked up as Satan laughed, bringing her mind back to clarity. Angrily, she pointed her hands at Satan. "Super Serpent Strike!" The giant cobra shot for the robot at incredible speed. On instinct, the robot quickly ripped his shield off his back to deflect the attack. This was a mistake. The cobra exploded on impact with the shield, shattering it and flinging Satan straight into a mountain on a nearby island. Seeing this may be her last chance, Omniscales started her drill spin and flew at Satan. As the robot groaned and pulled himself from the mountain, Omniscales shot towards him and drilled right into the Hyper Emerald, shattering! "NOOOOOOO!" Satan yelled as his power failed, returning him to normal. Omniscales grinned. "Looks like you're no longer a god, Satan. Seems it's time for me to finish the job." She grabbed the severely weakened robot around the waist and heaved him a mile into the air. She cupped her hands upward, preparing her most powerful attack. The shadows of nearby objects seemed to lengthen, flocking to her as she charged up. A ball of pure darkness appeared in her hands, starting to manifest into a form twenty times the size of its creator. "DARK APOCALYPSE!" The mass of shadows shot upward in the form of a huge black dragon. Far above, Satan's eyes widened at the sight of the attack. "Oh shit." The dragon struck him. There was a dark blast of unbelievable proportions, a wave of blackness spreading out in all directions, temporarily blotting out the sun. As the wave passed over everything ion range, including Angel Island and Station Square, rainbow sparkles fell from the wave, washing over the damaged areas of both locales. The sparkles gathered around the buildings and people destroyed in the last few days, restoring the skyscrapers and resurrecting the dead, to the happiness of their loved ones. In Echidnaopolis, the Chaos Temple and Guardian Tower were fixed right up. In the hotel room, Big and Robotnik watched in disbelief as the wave passed above the hotel, sending sparkles into their room that then merged with the four sleepers. A second later, Big's scanner indicated that all the nanites in their bodies had been liquefied. They cheered, thinking a miracle had occurred. How right they were. Omniscales panted and recovered from the massive amount of energy she had put into that blast. She could no longer sense Satan's presence. The robot devil was dead. She could also sense people everywhere getting happier, the little miracle she had granted taking effect. She smiled, knowing she had done what she was supposed to. "I'd better get back to normal. If I stay like this too long, some other god may show up and invite me to ascend to Heaven." She closed her eyes, and she was instantly normal Scales again. Her smile broadened. "Looks like that's that, then. I'd better get back to Angel Island and see how everyone's doing. But first..." She bent over and scooped up all the shards of the Hyper Emerald. "This thing may come in handy." She put away the shards and closed her eyes again, focusing on the hotel room, and a bed she could sleep in. "Chaos Control!" In a flash of green light, she was gone.  
  
Once all the celebrations had ended and people calmed down a bit, it was time to move on. Knuckles used the Hyper Emerald in lieu of the old Master Emerald, using it to take Angel Island to the air again. Soon after, he proposed to Rouge. She accepted. After having to recount the whole story many times, Scales took a long 36- hour nap to sleep off the tiring experience of being a deity for a short time. Stripes is happy to have her back, and doesn't seem to want to leave her side for any reason. I have a feeling that when he gets home and meets Nightshade, that'll all change. Shadow and Amy got to enjoy their wedding night and are now leaving for their honeymoon. They're going on a world tour of sorts, and won't be back for about a month. I certainly hope they enjoy themselves. Robotnik and Big scavenged the ruins of the metal pyramid and were surprised to not only find the remains of Metal Shadow, but a deactivated robot that appeared to be a Metal Amy. They took both robots back to their labs and fixed them up. With a little reprogramming and memory purge, Metal Shadow was no longer a monster bent on global annihilation. He's now a housekeeper at Eggman Industries, and is currently dating Metal Amy. Tails is still a fisherman, living with Cassandra and Toady. There's not much to say about them, except they're happy together. Tikal is pregnant. Do NOT try to imagine how it happened, cause it's kind of freaky when you think about the fact that Chaos is the one who did it. The cheating weasel was arrested for his swindling. Casinopolis was closed down for their heavily rigged games. That's about it, really. There's nothing more to tell you about, except that life in Station Square, and on planet Earth, continues.  
  
THE END  
  
And so ends our story, did you like it? Well, it's not quite over yet! We have one last interview to do with Scales before this tale is done Scales, are you here? Scales: Yeah, I'm here. Me: Good! So, what was it like to be a god? Scales: It was the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me. I felt so energized, infinite power flowing through my veins! The only way I can really describe it is that it sort of felt like I always imagined getting laid would be like. Me:...Sorry I asked. Anyway, let's get some final questions from our readers! Scales: Bring 'em on! I took on the most powerful robot ever created, I can handle a little Q&A! Me: First, from 273. Why didn't you make Scales fight the Demonic Three? Scales: Because Pi2 was lazy and didn't want to try having a three-on-one fight. Me: I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Ultrafan X wanted to know why Metal Shadow sent out Mecha Amy to fight you if he had a thing for her. Scales: Because despite the fact that he's attracted to her, he also hates anything organic. His feelings for her conflicts with his programming, causing problems. That's why I added Metal Amy at the end, because he would much rather have a new, robotic Amy than simply a roboticized one, because deep down he would know she really loved Shadow, not him. And besides, even when roboticized, she's still technically organic. Me: That's right. Anyway, thanks for all the good reviews! The dinosaurs thank you! (Shows picture of healthy, happy dinos.) They'll never go hungry again. Also, Scales, we have some more gifts for you! Scales: Oh? Me: Maverick sent you a whole bag of weasels, (Tosses it to her) Ultrafan X sends double the usual weasels plus an extra sack (Throws over two big bags of weasels) and he also sent you this. (Throws the struggling Fang the Sniper at Scales.) Scales: (Licking her lips.) Thanks! (Immediately starts devouring the weasels.) Me: Now we're done. Thank you for staying with me this long. You're beautiful fans, and I don't deserve you. Now, if you really liked this, you might enjoy the sequel! Keep an eye out for Scales Adventure 2, soon coming to a fanfiction near you! And that's it. Good night everybody!  
  
Scales: (About to disembowel Fang.) Don't forget to review! 


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